


Sweeter Than Heaven (Hotter Than Hell)

by quirkthescribbler



Category: Game Grumps
Genre: Angel!Suzy, Bonding, Demon!Dan, Demon/Angel AU, Eventual Relationships, Eventual Smut, Fluff, Hurt/Comfort, Multi, Not Actually Unrequited Love, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Suspense, creepy imagery, dark themes, minor body horror (chapt 5)
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-06-09
Updated: 2017-01-02
Packaged: 2018-07-13 22:48:47
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 10
Words: 32,578
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7141019
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/quirkthescribbler/pseuds/quirkthescribbler
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Arin sold his soul years ago for a chance at a better life.  Now he's caught in between a heaven and a hell, willing to help the demon who made the deal regain his humanity - as long as Arin has a chance to get his own soul back too.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. The Nightmare

**Author's Note:**

> Inspired by (the lovely) grouchycouchy's ramblings on Tumblr.

Arin laid on the couch in the living room, having been banned from the bedroom for the night after a particularly nasty argument with Suzy.  His eyes trained on the ceiling, his mind wandered to the words exchanged and he rubbed his palms against his eyes.  “Money doesn’t buy happiness,” he muttered, “but it sure would make our fucking lives easier.”

They were scrambling to get by.  Disney didn’t pay much, and Arin was considering getting a second job so that he and Suzy could avoid choosing  between paying rent or buying groceries.  But Suzy hadn’t wanted that because she knew she would never be able to see Arin between his two jobs, and hadn’t he thought about that, and then he said he just wanted to make a little money which prompted her to ask him, “Is money really more important than our relationship though?” and _ugh,_ it just kept rolling downhill from there.

Thing was, money wasn’t the most important thing.  It wasn’t - Arin knew that.  But _not_ having money made things so much harder, put undue strain on his and Suzy’s relationship.  They loved each other, yes.  They wanted to be together, yes.  But love didn’t pay bills.  It didn’t feed them.  Arin knew the main reason why most couples broke up was because of money issues; he was beginning to see why that was now.

He threw his arm over his eyes as a sigh escaped his lips.  All he wanted was to be able to afford food _and_ rent.  All he wanted was to be able to take care of Suzy.  All he wanted was for money to not be the problem anymore.

He moved his arm and rubbed his eyes once more, looking up at the ceiling.  Except this time… the ceiling started back.  Red irises found his own brown ones as a fanged grin glowed in the darkness.

Arin sat up and scrambled backwards, knocking over the lamp on the end table.  His mouth opened to yell but a hand quickly clasped over it, scarlet eyes only inches from his own.

“Shhh,” a voice from the fanged mouth purred, “we can’t have you waking up the little lady, can we?”

Arin took a deep breath through his nose and tried to calm his nerves.  No good would come from him panicking right now.  He had to protect Suzy above all else.

As if reading his mind, the voice spoke again.  “Relax, dude.  I’m not gonna hurt you or your girlfriend.  I just wanna talk, maybe make you an _incredibly_ tempting offer.”

Okay, now Arin was thoroughly confused.  Make him an offer?  What the fuck?  “What do you mean, make me an offer?  What could you possibly offer me?” he asked, leaning back and freeing his mouth from the stranger’s hand.

“I know a lot about you, Arin,” the intruder replied, a touch smug at seeing Arin’s eyes widen in surprise over already knowing his name.  “I know you have a girlfriend named Suzy, I know you’re both working dead-end jobs, and I know that you’re on the couch because you pissed her off.”

Arin cocked a brow.  “Stalker much?”

Red eyes rolled in annoyance.  “Don’t flatter yourself, kid.  It’s my job.”

“Your job?” The stranger backed away from Arin, so he used the opportunity to study the figure before him.  His form said human, but the eyes, pointed teeth, and ram horns protruding from his head said otherwise.  A thin fog followed him around, obscuring his other features in the dark, though Arin could see a mess of curly hair surrounding his horns.  “What--who are you?”

“Who I am isn’t important.  What I am, however… that’s _very_ important,” he said with a chuckle.  “I am what you might call a demon.”

“A demon?” Arin parroted back.  “I don’t believe in hell.  Or heaven, for that matter.”

The self-professed demon scoffed.  “Yeah, and I can believe the sky is purple but it doesn’t change the fact that it’s blue.”  He stood, moving behind the couch.  “What you believe doesn’t determine fact.”  He disappeared around a wall to enter the kitchen.  “Waddya have to eat in here?  I’m starving.”

Arin got to his feet hastily and skidded into the room.  “Uh, first, we have like, no food.  At all.  And second, even if we did, why would I give you anything?”

The demon, who had been hunched over with his head in the fridge, stood up straight and closed the door, smirking at Arin.  “Is that how you treat the person who is going to change your life?”

“You’re not technically a person, though.”

“That’s beside the point.”

“How are you gonna change my life?”

“Ah, see that leads back to that offer I was talking about.”

Arin rolled his eyes with a huff.  “We’re talking in circles here, man!  What the fuck do you want from me?”

The demon took two steps toward Arin, leaving only a couple of inches between them, and grinned wickedly.  “Your soul, preferably.”

Arin took a staggering step backwards.  “What?”

The stranger waved his hand around nonchalantly.  “ _Pfft._  Stop acting all dramatic.  It’s not like I’m gonna forcibly take it from you.  I’m just gonna give you a choice.”

“A choice?” Arin repeated.

“Yeah.”  The intruder made his way toward the cheap dining set next to the kitchen to sit in a chair and prop his feet up on the table.  “I know you and Suzy are in a rough spot right now.  Having to choose between eating and paying bills - getting sick and hoping that it’s nothing worse than a cold because you know you can’t afford to visit a doctor.”  He placed  hand over his heart and looked sympathetically at Arin.  “I get it, and it breaks my heart. And I can help you,” the wicked grin was back, “for a nominal fee.”

Arin stayed silent and waited for the demon to continue, who now moved back toward the living room.  “I can give you what you want.  I can give you enough money to take of yourself and Suzy.”  He plopped down in the recliner while Arin perched himself on the edge of the couch, listening intently.  The demon smirked again, baring fangs, and Arin instinctively backed away.  “Wouldn’t you like to buy Suzy some nice things?  Buy those video games you’ve only been _wishing_ you could play?  I could give you a job that you love - even make you the boss.  I could literally give you everything you’ve ever wanted… for the small price of your soul."

Arin covered his mouth and worries his brow in thought.  His soul didn’t exactly seem like a small price to pay, but then again, fifteen minutes ago he didn’t even believe he had an eternal soul.  Can you miss something you’d only just realize you had?  And surely there had to be some fine print.  “What’s the catch?  I only live half as long, or something horrible happens to me to get what I want?” 

The demon relaxed into the chair, placing his hands behind his neck.  “No catch.  You get what you want.  You still live a long, healthy life.  But when you die… you belong to the Underworld.  But that’s like, ages away!”

Arin scoffed.  “How the hell do you know if that’s ages away?  For all I know you could take my soul today and make me die in a car crash tomorrow!”

The demon’s face fell into what Arin discerned as anger for the first time since they started talking, and the expression sent a shiver up his spine.  “Okay, let’s get a few things straight,” the stranger growled.  “I can’t _take_ anything from you.  I can only complete a transaction.  I’m a businessman, not a thief.  And causing misfortune to anyone who strikes a deal is idiotic.  We want you to enjoy your life after the bargain is made - tell your friends about it.  It’s bad for business if a deal is made and suddenly someone dies.”

“Oh,” Arin replied dumbly.  “I guess that makes sense.”  He ran his hands through his hair nervously and looked back to the demon who was watching him closely.  “You really do treat this like a business, huh?”

“The acquisition of souls _is_ a business, millennia old.  Your ignorance of it doesn’t mean it hasn’t been happening for ages.  Speaking of business,” he stood up, stretching his arms over his head, “there’s plenty more of it for me to attend to if you’re not going to accept my generous offer.  I gotta get going.”

“Whoa, what?” Arin asked as he looked up from his position still on the couch.  “You mean I have to make this decision right now?”

The stranger shrugged.  “Either you want this or you don’t.  If you hesitate, then you doubt, and there’s no room for that in this deal.”  He turned his back on Arin and started walking toward the door.  “Think of this like a limited time offer.  You snooze, you lose.”

Arin swallowed.  This was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.  Not everyone got a chance like this - a guarantee that his life would turn around.  The demon’s hand rested on the doorknob-- “Wait!”

He stopped, took his hand off the handle and turned around slowly.  “Yes?” he answered, seeming disinterested.

A deep inhale.  “I’ll do it.” Arin met red eyes.  “For money, success, and a job that I don’t hate, I’ll give you my soul.”

A dangerous smile appeared on the demon’s face and he took a couple steps toward Arin.  “I’m glad to hear it.”  He stuck out his hand and Arin took it in his own.  “Pleasure doing business with you.”

A firm handshake, and the demon had let go, turning his back once again.  Arin looked down at his hand, unimpressed.  “That’s it?” he deadpanned.  “No contract, no… blood oath?”

The intruder barked out a laugh.  “Your word is good enough.  Don’t you worry, we won’t forget about you.”  Arin blinked and suddenly the demon was in front of him again, taking his Arin’s chin in his hand and tilting his face up.  “We’ll take _good_ care of you in this life - and the afterlife, too, but you probably won’t like that as much.”  He quirked a brow, amused.  “Or maybe you will?  No rush to find out, right?”

Arin blinked again and the man was gone.  He looked around frantically, rubbed his eyes until he saw stars, but there was no trace of anyone else being in the room.  He stood for just a moment longer, bewildered and wondering if he had fallen victim to some wild hallucination caused by expired food, before collapsing back onto the couch.  “Holy shit, that was fucking weird,” he said aloud to himself.  He replayed the events in his mind, still trying to figure out if they were real, but quickly gave up as he felt the tendrils of sleep pulling at his consciousness.

-~*~-

Arin awoke with a start, sitting up in bed and breathing heavily.  He felt clammy and cold, like he had run a marathon in sub-zero temperatures.  He turned to his right and looked at the bedside table clock - 3:36 am.  He wouldn’t be able to go back to sleep after that, he just knew it.  He let out a groan of frustration.

The bed rustled and he looked to his left to see his wife blearily gazing up at him.  “Wha’s wron’?” she murmured through her sleepy haze.

Arin instantly felt remorse for waking her and leaned down to press a kiss to her forehead in apology.  “Nothin’ babe, just a bad dream.  Go back to sleep.”

He moved to get out of the bed, but Suzy reached out and grabbed the waistband of his boxers.  “Where’re you goin’”

He shook his head.  “Can’t sleep.  Gonna go… drink some tea or read a book or… somethin’.”

“Oh,” she replied, letting her hand drop.  “Don’t stay up too long.”

Arin gave a deep chuckle.  His wife always looked out for him, even when she was borderline unconscious.  “I won’t babe, I promise.  Go back to sleep.”

Suzy gave a muffled ‘mmhmm’ and buried her head in the pillow once more.  Arin moved as quietly as possible off the bed, donning a t-shirt and softly closing the door.  He made his way downstairs to the kitchen to make some chamomile tea.  It wasn’t his favorite, but maybe it would calm his buzzing mind.  He set some water on the stove to boil as his brain thought back to the haunting images.

Eyes.  Teeth.  Horns.  Selling his soul for money.  Why the hell would he dream about that?  He wasn’t desperate - well, not anymore.  There had been a time, but now… he and Suzy had just bought their first home in LA.  He owned his own company.  He was _happy._ Why would a nightmare like this make itself known now?

It wasn’t the first time this scene had disturbed him while he slumbered, either.  It had started during those difficult years in Florida, living paycheck to paycheck and wondering where their next meal was coming from.  It made sense then - dreaming of a way to whisk away his problems and struggles with just a simple handshake.  But now?  Now they were stable.  Now their struggles were blessings in disguise.  For that dream to make an appearance now?  His subconscious didn’t make any damn sense.

The kettle began to hiss and Arin quickly took it off the heat, not wanting the whistle to wake up Suzy again.  Mug of tea in hand, he padded into the living room and picked up the book on the coffee table that he had slowly been working his way through.

What really struck Arin this time around was how fucking _vivid_ it all was.  He remembered it like it happened yesterday - like it happened at all.  Every word of the conversation, every movement made, every minute detail, he could recall it all.  He could probably draw it.  Maybe that was what he should do - maybe that’s what would get it out of his head.

He put down the book (the words on the page weren’t sticking with him anyways) and started rummaging through the end table looking for a sketchbook and something to draw with.  When he found a book and some colored pencils, he let his fingers begin to work, deftly drawing the images flooding his memory.

Two circles, shaded red, black dots at the center.

A crescent moon, home to triangles pieced together like a puzzle.

Ridged horns, shaded gray and curling down around the eyes.

A bed of curly hair resting at the base of the horns.

Arin moved his pencil to continue, but wasn’t sure where to go next.  He wracked his brain, trying to remember the final details.  How could he not remember his face?  The slope of his nose, the shape of his ears, or the curve of his lips… with the clarity of everything else in the dream, could he really not remember anything more?

He took in the picture before him, eyes staring at him from the paper with a demented grin, and his stomach turned with nerves.  He quickly closed the sketchbook and stuffed it in the back of the end table drawer, making sure the other debris in the space covered the book.  Standing, he took a deep breath.  “Calm the _fuck_ down, Arin,” he scolded himself.  “You’re fine.”

He couldn’t shake the feeling that he was being watched now.  Like the figure in his nightmare was standing directly behind him.  He whipped around to look and had to stifle a scream, only to feel completely mortified by the fact that the figure he’d felt frightened of was his own reflection in a full-length window.  Giving another deep exhale to steady his racing heart, he shakily turned off the lights and trudged back to the bedroom.  If nothing downstairs would calm his down, then his wife’s steady and peaceful breathing would surely so the trick.

But it didn’t.  Arin laid on his back, staring at the ceiling with eyes wide open until sunrise, because every time he closed them to sleep a pair of scarlet ones stared back.  


	2. The Reality

“Are you okay, babe?”

Arin looked over to Suzy in the passenger seat, who was looking at him with worry.  He felt like a zombie, having only gotten a couple hours of sleep before that damned nightmare kept him up, and he probably looked like one too.  “Yeah,” he started, “I’m just… tired.  I couldn’t sleep after I woke up from that dream.”

Suzy pouted.  “You said you’d get some sleep.”

Arin shrugged.  “Well, I tried.  I tried everything in the fucking book.  Nothing worked.”

Arin felt Suzy’s hand squeeze his thigh reassuringly.  “I’m sorry, babe.  What did you dream about that had you up all night?”

Arin furrowed his brow.  Suzy was his wife, his best friend.  He could tell her, but wouldn't it scare her?   _Pfft,_ he thought, _who am I kidding?  She’s one of the toughest people I know.  I’m a big baby compared to her._ “It was… weird.  I dreamt I, like, sold my soul to a demon, or something.”  He didn’t feel like getting into all of the details, so he let that hang in the air.

And hang it did.  Suzy was silent for long enough that Arin had to look at her to prompt some kind of response.  Her eyebrows wrinkled and her mouth opened to speak, but it took a few moments for her to find the words.  “Wow, Arin, that’s… dark.”

He chuckled hollowly.  “Yeah, you’re telling me.”

“What do you think it means?” she asked, treading lightly.

“I don’t know,” he replied, rubbing a hand over his face in in exhaustion and frustration.  “The crazy thing is, it’s not the first time I’ve had it.  Just the first time I’ve had it in so long.  And the first time it’s gotten me this freaked out.”

Suzy looked downright worried.  “Do you think that, maybe, you need to see someone to talk about it?”

Arin balked at the idea.  “What?  No!”  He shook his head.  “Not that there’s anything wrong with it, but I think that’s a little drastic, don’t you?”

She shrugged.  “I don’t know.  It might be good for you to talk to someone if it’s keeping you up at night.”

His wife had a point… but.  “I think it’s too early to say.  If it happens again… I’ll consider it.”

She reached for his hand and offered him a warm smile, satisfied with his answer.  “Do you wanna go home and get some rest?  I mean, you are the boss.  Everyone would understand.”

Arin thought about it for a hard second.  It was tempting; sleep sounded so good right now.  But there wasn’t any guarantee that he would actually rest, even now.  “Nah, I’ll be okay.  I’m supposed to Grump today so we can get ahead of the recording schedule.  And I’ll sleep better tonight if I wear myself out.”

“Okay babe,” Suzy conceded.  “But if you look like you’re gonna pass out, I’m taking you home.”  She looked forward to the road passing in front of them.  “Or at least making you take a nap.”

Arin chuckled.  “Fair enough.”

-~*~ 

“Hey man, what’s going on?  You’re looking a little haggard.”

Arin, rubbing his eyes, looked to Dan on his left.  “Nothing.  I’m just tired.”

“You wanna take a break?”  They were between episodes at the moment.  Arin could go for a walk, get something to eat - anything to get him out of the dark recording room.

“Sure.  Meet back in twenty?”

Dan shrugged and smiled.  “You tell me.  You clearly need a break more than I do.”

Arin clapped his hands together.  “Twenty it is then.”  He stretched on the couch as Dan stood and stretched too, raising his arms over his head before letting them drop.  Arin was quick to follow his co-host out of the room, stopping by the kitchen to get a Monster energy drink.  He had cut way back on his caffeine intake,  but if there was any day that he truly needed it, it was today.  He popped the tab on the can and walked outside.

The bright LA sunlight almost blinded him, but the change from the recording room was a welcome one.  The warm air licked at his skin as he drew the can to his lips.  Sighing, he leaned back against the brick wall of the office building and turned his face upwards, soaking in the sun.

He had to pull himself together.  He was only a couple of hours into recording for the day - not even halfway through yet.  Not only was the exhaustion getting to him, but he was also being paranoid.  When Dan had put a hand on Arin’s shoulder as a ‘good morning’ gesture earlier, Arin had visibly jumped at the contact.  Dan hadn’t said anything about it, but there was no way he hadn’t noticed.

Arin kicked off the wall and started walking around the parking lot, warming up his muscles and actively trying to banish the dream from his mind.  It was a stupid dream anyway.  Demons were a made-up things - a construct created by humans to try and explain good and evil.  He didn’t have a soul to sell.  This was just his brain going into overdrive and freaking out for no reason.  It was silly to be so scared in broad daylight.

When he thought about it like this, he felt calmer.  A chuckle escaped his lips.  The whole ordeal was ridiculous when he thought about it rationally and didn’t let his emotions or imagination get in the way.  A dream that just went too far - just like playing scary game with Dan.  Not real.

A few more laps around the lot and Arin was feeling much more himself.  The sun’s heat and light helped, and the caffeine and sugar from his drink were starting to work.   Feeling rejuvenated, he practically marched back into the studio, ready to pick up where they had left off.  He found Dan in the kitchen checking something on his phone and Arin clasped a hand on his shoulder.  “You ready to get started?”

Dan looked back at Arin and smiled.  “Sure!  Just let me get a mug of tea - it’s freezing in that room today.”

Arin rolled his eyes, still returning Dan’s smile.  “You always think it’s freezing in here.”

“Yeah, well, that’s because it _is.”_

Arin chuckled and squeezed Dan’s shoulder before heading back to the recording room.  He got the TV turned back on and made sure all of the equipment was still ready to record before Dan came back in, shutting the door behind him.  Dan plopped down on the couch, wrapping himself in a blanket, and Arin was quick to follow (sans blanket).  Arin repositioned the mics.  “Ready?”

Dan nodded and Arin started up the game again, beginning the recording.  “Heeeeey, welcome back to Game Grumps!” Arin started as he unpaused the game.

“Yes, welcome,” Dan jumped in smoothly.

“We just got back from a break where I ran around outside and drank an entire Monster, so if my energy levels seem way up from last episode now you know why.”

Dan chuckled.  “Yeah, you needed a rest, man.  You looked like you had been hit by a truck.”

“Well, I’m not sick,” Arin corrected.  “I’m just fuckin’ exhausted.  Didn’t get enough sleep last night, you know?”

“Yeah.”  Dan smirked.  “What, did Suzy wear your ass out last night?”

Arin stifled a laugh.  “Okay, first off,” Dan was laughing now, “no.  Second off, don’t let her hear you talk about her like that or she’ll fucking kill you, man.  And third off, I _wish_ that was the reason I couldn’t sleep last night.”

Dan’s laughter started to die down.  “Well, what _was_ it that kept you up?”

“I had a nightmare and I couldn’t go back to sleep after it woke me up,” Arin stated matter-of-factly.

“Awww, is widdle Awin a-scared of the dark?” Dan jabbed playfully.

“Hey, don’t make fun of me, it was terrifying.  Well, at the time it was.  Now I look back on it and it just feels kinda stupid.”

“Well, what was it about?  Killer clowns chasing you?  Losing an entire day’s worth of recording?  Having a-”

“FUCK!  ME!” Arin cursed loudly as his character died on the screen, eliciting a string of giggles from Dan.   “That’s _bullshit!_ I mean where the fuck was I supposed to go?  How could I dodge that?!”

Dan rubbed Arin’s back.  “It’s okay, Big Cat.  Just- take a breather.”

As Arin calmed down his mind wandered back to Dan’s question before his outburst.  “Okay, back to the dream - I was back in Florida - or I guess it took place when I was still in Florida - and this demon-thing broke into my house and wanted me to sell my soul.  And I did.  And - I guess it sounds stupid when I try to explain it, but it freaked me out.”

Arin furrowed his brow when Dan didn’t say anything.  He looked over to his co-host, whose mouth was slightly open, eyes concerned.  “Holy shit, dude,” Dan replied quietly.  “That’s, um, really fuckin’ dark?”

Arin turned his attention back to the game, narrowly missing a death blow.  “Yeah, Suzy said the same thing.  I don’t know what it means or anything but… I can remember a lot of details?”

“Like what?”

“Like… the demon had red eyes, and these huge horns almost as big as his head.  And his teeth were all fangs.  And we had this really in-depth conversation about what I wanted out of life and he was willing to give it to me for my soul.  And the I said yes, and then we was gone.”

Dan had gone silent again, and when Arin looked over this time he noticed that his friend had gone a little pale.  “Dude, you okay?”

Dan’s eyes found Arin’s and he gave a nervous chuckle.  “Oh, yeah, I’m okay.  It just sounds scary, and you know I don’t handle creepy things well.”

“Well, if I had known it woulda scared you that much I would have kept my mouth shut.”

Dan lightly shoved him and he noticed that the color was starting to come back Dan’s face.  “It didn’t scare me _that_ much.  It’s just… creepy.”

“Yep.  And now you know why I couldn’t sleep last night.”

“Yeah, I’d say so.”

“Have you ever--oh my god,” Arin interrupted himself as he dodged another blow from a particularly hard boss before landing a damning hit on his adversary.  “Oh my god, YEEES!  TAKE THAT BITCH! HA HA!”

Dan dissolved into another fit of giggles, and they didn’t return to the topic of Arin’s dream.  The conversation was over, and frankly, Arin was fine with it.

-~*~-

A month passed, and Arin hadn’t had the dream since.  He had been sleeping just fine, thank you very much, and the nightmare was almost a distant memory.  Everything was running smoothly - no major hangups, they were all well ahead of the recording schedule - life was good.

Arin was on his way home from his morning workout with his personal trainer when his phone buzzed.  

**Dan: Hey can we meet at the grump space around 10?  I need to talk to you a/b something.**

Arin furrowed his brow.  It was going to be a late day for everyone and no one was going to be at the office until noon.  He’d have to run home and shower, and either grab something for breakfast on the way or scrounge for something at the office.  But he could do it.

**Arin:  Sure bro.  Everything okay?**

Arin drove with his phone in the passenger seat, waiting for a response.  When none came he started to feel concerned.  He rushed inside the house to take a quick shower, get dressed, and kiss Suzy goodbye.  He was back on the road in half an hour, borderline speeding to get there before ten and be able to talk with Dan as soon as he got there.

Arin arrived at the office with ten minutes to spare, but saw Dan’s car already parked in the lot.  His mind started racing.  Something had to be wrong, for Dan to be here so early and to not even hint at what was going on… Arin walked into the office, his heart thumping, dreading the conversation to come.

He found Dan sitting on the counter in the kitchen, looking forlornly at his phone.  He didn’t look up when Arin entered the space, only when the younger man was standing right in front of him.  “Hey,” Dan greeted, his voice soft.

“Hey,” Arin greeted in return, clearly worried.  “What’s going on?  Are you okay?”

Dan shrugged and Arin furrowed his brow.  It wasn’t like Dan to be so vague.  This was not good, not at all.  He slid off the counter and started walking to the recording room, gesturing for Arin to follow.  Arin perched against the back of the couch as Dan shut the door behind him and leaned against it.  

Arin folded his arms.  “Dude, you’re starting to freak me out.  Did I do something wrong?” His mind automatically went to the worst news possible.  “Are you leaving the show?”

Dan held out his hands in defeat.  “You didn’t do anything wrong - I’m not leaving the show.  Well -” he cut himself off, “-I might be leaving the show.  I don’t _want_ to, but… I don’t know.”

Arin was growing more nervous.  “What does that mean?” he asked, his voice cautious.

Dan inhaled deeply.  “Okay.”  He shook out his hands nervously and looked directly at Arin.  “Do you remember that dream you had a while back?  About the demon and selling your soul and shit?”

Now Arin was confused.  “Yes, but what does that have to do with anything?”

“What if I told you that was real?”

Arin rolled his eyes.  “Come on, Dan, what the hell is this?  If this is a joke it isn’t funny anymore.  It wasn’t funny to begin with.”

“No, Arin, I’m being serious.  This isn’t a joke.  I’m telling you, it wasn’t a dream.”

Arin leaned back against the couch, arms still folded, and his frustration grew.  He looked at Dan with a skeptical eye.  “Are you sure you’re not high?  Because if you are, I’m okay with it, but you should probably chill until it wears off.”

“No!  Arin, you _have_ to believe me!”  Dan was growing more desperate for Arin to understand.  He sighed, looking down at his feet.  “Fuck it.  You’re not gonna believe me until I show you.”

Arin shook his head.  “Show me _what?”_

Without looking back at Arin, Dan brought his left hand to his temple and closed his eyes,  his brow wrinkling in concentration.  Arin had just about had it with whatever Dan was trying to pull.  “Dan, what the fuck--”

But Arin’s sentence caught in his throat when he met Dan’s eyes.

_Crimson._

Arin leaned further back over the couch, but quickly lost his balance and went sprawling on the floor between the sofa and the equipment setup.  When he got his bearings on the floor, he looked up at Dan, who was staring at him with scarlet eyes and now had large horns sticking out of his head.

Dan opened his mouth to speak, and Arin noticed the glimmer of fangs.   _Holy shit.  This  can’t be happening._

“Arin, I’m the demon you sold your soul to all those years ago.  But I can give it back.  I need a favor.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks to everyone who has read, left kudos, or commented! Feedback is always appreciated and I'm glad people are enjoying it so far!


	3. The Conversation

Arin stared at Dan in disbelief.  He felt like he had to be dreaming, but the pain radiating from his lower back said otherwise.  This was real.  Demons were real.  Dan being a demon _was real._

Dan walked around the couch toward Arin to help him up but Arin scrambled backwards.  “Don’t touch me!” he spat angrily.

Genuine hurt crossed Dan’s features before he looked at his feet in remorse.  “Yeah, I guess I deserve that,” he murmured, rubbing the back on his neck.

Arin warily watched Dan, but when his friend made no move to come any closer Arin managed to make his legs work and stand.  He took a few more steps backwards so his back was to the wall.  Dan still made no effort to move - he wouldn’t even look Arin in the eyes.

Arin was still trying to process what all this meant.  He wasn’t sure where to start, but the first thing that popped out of his mouth was, “So does this mean our entire friendship has been on huge lie?”

“What?  No!” Dan reacted quickly.  “I mean, when we made our deal, I had ways of seeing into certain aspects of your life - to make sure you were getting what you agreed to.  But… but something about you drew me in, and I didn’t want to just watch good things happen to you anymore - I wanted to be a part of the good things happening.”

“But what about your life?  All of the stories you’ve told, all of your experiences - were they all just made up?”

“No.”  Dan’s voice was growing calmer, but it did nothing to calm Arin.  How could Arin be calm when he was still talking to someone with _fangs?_  “I wasn’t always a demon.  I used to be a human too.  Everything I’ve ever told you or talked about are things I did when I still had a soul. Before I became… this,” he gestured to himself before sitting down on the couch, resting his hands on his knees.  “That’s kinda why I need your help.  I want to get my soul back.”

Arin relaxed his shoulders, but still kept his back to the wall.  He looked at Dan quizzically as anger was quickly turning into curiosity.  “Can you even do that?”

Dan shrugged, still refusing to look at Arin.  “That’s what I’ve been told, anyway.  They don’t tell you that when you go to the Underworld for the first time.  They make it seem like this is the choice you’ve made, it’s useless to have hope, you have to live with it.  But apparently, there is a way to get your soul back.  It’s just… not easy.”

Arin felt empathy pull at his heartstrings.  Dan was one of his closest friends.  Even if he had been lying about this for a long time, Arin couldn’t just shut off his feelings for Dan.  Seeing him so forlorn and devoid of the happiness he usually held, it wasn’t right.  “This really means a lot to you, doesn’t it?”

Dan chuckled hollowly and Arin did not like the sound at all.  “It’s my only chance to get out of this, man.  And I think my time is running out.”

That last statement alarmed Arin.  “What do you mean your time is running out?”

“I haven’t collected any souls in months,” Dan confessed quietly.  “I have a quota to fill and I just… stopped.  I don’t wanna do it anymore.  I don’t want to damn anymore people to this life.”

Arin looked at his feet, his heart breaking for Dan.  God, what had Dan been going through all of this time?  “What happens if you don’t fill your quota?” Arin wasn’t sure if he wanted to know the answer but he asked the question anyway.

Dan looked to Arin, his eyes hard and cold.  “I’ll be dragged back to the Underworld and cease to exist.  No one will _ever_ see me again, not even in the Afterlife.”

Arin swallowed and shuddered.  He didn't need any details - Dan's grave response was answer enough.  His stomach dropped as another question came to him.  “Is this what’s going to happen to me too?  Because I sold my soul to you?”

Dan worried his brow in guilt and looked to the floor once more.  “If I can’t get my soul back, yes.  When you die, you’ll be taken to the Underworld and given a choice - rot there, or agree to start collecting souls.”  Another hollow laugh.  “I tried the first option.  Two words: unimaginable pain.”  He shrugged.  “When I couldn’t take it anymore, I agreed to acquiring souls.  You were actually one of my first.”

Arin furrowed his brow.  “Really?” he asked with a small smile.  “But you seemed so cocky at the time.”

Dan chuckled for real this time.  “Yeah, well, if you wanna succeed in this business you gotta talk a big game.  Confidence is key.”  He inhaled deeply and slowly exhaled, turning his body toward Arin.  “Look, if we can get my soul back, then your soul - and _every_ soul I‘ve collected who hasn’t expired yet - will be released from their contract.  I am the link between your soul and the Underworld until you die; at that point the connection is direct.  If we break it, then we’re both free.”

Arin folded his arms and took a few steps toward Dan.  “So all we have to do is get your soul back?”

Dan smiled sadly.  “You make it sound so easy.”

A shrug from Arin and another step closer.  “It can’t be that hard, right?  I mean you must have some idea of what to do if you’re asking me for help.”

Dan shook his head.  “All I know if that I need an angel.”

Arin laughed.  “Don’t we all.”

Again Dan shook his head, more vigorously this time.  “No.   _Literally,_ I need an angel.”

Arin blinked twice.  “Are you telling me that _angels_ exist too?!”

Dan smiled.  “Yeah, dude.  If demons exist are you really that surprised that angels do too?  There has to be balance to everything in this world.”

Arin felt - and looked - shocked.  “Wait, how am I supposed to help you find an angel?”  His face paled slightly.  “Oh god, don’t tell me _I’m_ an angel?!  I don’t think I can handle this much life-altering news in such a short amount of time!”

Dan stood and held his hands out in a calming gesture.  “No, Arin, calm down, you’re not an angel.  You would have known if you were, and I would have known because I would not have been able to strike a deal with you in the first place.”

“Well, then, how am I supposed to help you find an angel?”  Arin was _so_ confused.

“Okay, um,” Dan wring his hands together, “you might want to sit down for this.”

“I’m fine standing, thanks.”

“Okay.”  Dan took another deep breath.  “Okay.”  Dan clasped his hands together and held them up to his mouth.  “I think Suzy is an angel.”

Arin blinked twice, three times, five more times, before he started feeling light-headed.  “I think I need to sit down,” he mumbled.  Dan ushered him to the couch and Arin tried to unpack the information Dan had just laid out before him.  His wife, the woman he loved, who he’d spent most of his life with, who knew him inside and out better than anyone else, was an _angel?_ How could that be?  How could she keep this from him?  It didn’t make sense - surely Dan had to be wrong.  “Why do you think that?” he asked, his voice quiet, looking to Dan standing in front of him.

“Generally speaking, as a demon, I can get certain reads of people’s aura of emotions.  I can tell when someone is feeling lost, sad, hopeless,” he smirked, “or in Ross’s case, if someone is a total sadist.  It’s one of my ‘powers,’ I guess, so I can tell when I need to swoop in and try to make an offer for their soul.”  His eyes looked past Arin, staring off into space.  “I’ve never felt that when I’m around Suzy.  I can’t get _any_ read on what she’s feeling other than what she expresses directly.  And that means one of two things.  Either she’s also a demon - which I’m pretty sure I would have picked up on by now - or she’s an angel.”

Arin rested his head in his hands, fingers threading through soft locks.  This was so much to take in.  This was _life-changing_.  If what Dan said was true then nothing would be the same after today.  There was so much about his best friend and his wife that he didn’t know, and honestly, he kinda felt like an idiot, like he should have known all along, even though he knew deep down there was no other way of him knowing.  “Goddamn, Daniel, what do we do now?”

Dan sat down next to Arin.  “I need to talk to her, and I want you to be there.  She won’t admit to being an angel unless I reveal myself to her first.  And if I tell her what I did by taking your soul… she’s not gonna be happy.  I need you there are a liaison - or at least a witness so she doesn’t kill me.”

A doubtful expression crossed Arin’s face.  “I don’t think she’s gonna kill you, man.  She loves you as much as I do.”

Dan shook his head.  “No, she loves you too fiercely.  When she finds out what I’ve done, who I _really_ am, she’s gonna go berserker.”  Arin seriously doubted this claim, but he brushed it off.  Suzy was tough, but she didn’t hurt people, and he couldn’t imagine her trying to harm Dan.  “Besides,” Dan continued on from before, “I need you to be there because you’re involved in this too.  You’re at the crux of it all.  You deserve to know what’s going on.”

Arin nodded, pushing his hair out of his face.  “Okay, that makes sense.  What do we do after that?”

Dan looked worried as he studied his hands.  “Honestly?  I don’t know.  I’m kinda hoping that Suzy will know what to do after that.  I heard from another former demon that angels can get your soul back, but the methods aren’t usually talked about.  I think they fear word getting back to the Underworld and the consequences from that.”  He wrinkled his forehead in thought.  “But I feel like angels _must_ know how to restore lost souls.  They’re here to protect and heal - how could they not know?”

The cogs in Arin’s mind were turning.  “So we need to tell Suzy, and figure out where to go from here.  And apparently, we need to do it quickly.”   _Because if we don’t, we’re going to lose you, and eventually I’m going to be lost as well,_ Arin left unsaid.

“Yeah.  That’s the general jist of it all.”

“Okay, so come over for breakfast tomorrow.”  Arin was quickly formulating a plan.  “It’s a Saturday - we don’t have to come into the studio, and we can have breakfast and then tell her together.  And if for some reason she doesn’t know what to do, or she’s not an angel after all, we still have all day to figure out what it’s gonna take to do this.”

Dan covered his mouth with his hand, thinking, before agreeing.  “Sooner is better, even though I’m not gonna have any time to decompress after this conversation.”  He leaned back into the couch, resting an arm over his eyes.  “Do you know how fucking anxious I was even just thinking about telling you all this?  You handled it a lot better than I thought you would.”

“Yeah, well, you’re not completely off the hook,” Arin said while shrugging.  “I still have an assload of questions that I want answers to.”

Dan peeked out from under his arm to look at his friend.  “I’ll answer anything you want to ask.  I promise.”

“And can we…” Arin gestured to his own head, mimicking Dan’s horns, “put those back now?”

“Oh! Of course!  I’m sorry, I probably should have hidden them a while ago…” Dan pressed his left hand to his temple again and closed his eyes in focused concentration.  The horns seemingly shrunk back into his skull, and when he opened his eyes again they had returned to their chocolate brown.  He rubbed his scalp where his horns had been and grimaced.  “Fuck, I forget that it’s always easier letting them out than trying to push them back in.” _No fangs,_ Arin noticed, _thank god._ “Ow.”

“How can you do that?” Arin asked.  “You just, like, morphed in front of me.”

“Another ‘power,’ so to speak.  I can change forms to make my appearance more pleasing to whoever’s soul I’m trying to get.”

Arin hesitated.  “So is this form what you figured would be pleasing to me?”  He couldn’t imagine Dan looking any other way, but he had to ask.  He needed to know if this wasn’t real.

“Actually, um,” Dan nervously rubbed the back of his neck, “this is what I looked like when I was human.  I didn’t take this form again until I started interacting with you.”  He cocked his head to the side.  “You were the first human to see me like this, the real me.”

Arin smiled as an unexplainable warmth spread throughout his chest.  This was still Dan, his friend and co-host.  What he was he didn’t change who he was.  “Well, I’m flattered.”

Dan giggled.  Arin did too.  “Seriously, though,” Dan reiterated as he stood up, “thank you for helping me and being cool about this.”

Arin didn’t know what to say.  “I mean, it’s you,” he started, standing too.  “You’re my friend.  I care about you.  And while you did keep things from me, I get why.”

Dan looked down at his feet.   “I’m sorry I didn’t tell you before now.”  He stuck his hands in his pockets, looking stiff.  “It means more to me than you know.”

When Dan’s eyes met Arin’s again, full of gratitude and worry and even a glimmer of happiness, Arin took a few steps forward and wrapped his friend in a hug.  It took Dan a moment to react before we was wrapping his arms around Arin’s form, resting his forehead on Arin’s shoulder.  Arin had to stop himself from squeezing harder; he couldn’t imagine his life without Dan and the idea that their time together might be coming to a close made him want to never let go.  He pulled back from Dan eventually, resting his hands on Dan’s shoulders.  “We’ll figure this out.”  He chuckled, “My soul’s riding on it too.”

Dan rolled his eyes.  “Ugh, don’t remind me of the mistakes of my youth,” he replied dramatically, making Arin laugh.  “So, do you like, wanna go get some food or something?  I’m starving.”

Arin cocked a brow.  “Demons actually eat?”

“Of course demons eat, Arin!  You’ve seen me eat in front of you, like, thousands of times.  Did you think I was just hiding it all somewhere?”

It was weird; the pair got breakfast at Denny’s, made it back to the office around 12:30, and went about their day as if nothing was different.  They filmed a short GrumpCade series with Barry and Ross, helped Suzy with some videos for her channels, joked and talked like their lives hadn’t irrevocably changed, like things weren’t going to get even weirder.  But as Arin laid next to his wife later that night in bed, he looked up to the ceiling much like he had all those fateful nights ago and wondered if things really were going to get better.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks to everyone who has read, left kudos, or commented! Feedback is always appreciated and I'm glad people are enjoying it so far!


	4. The Revelation

Arin awoke the his cell phone buzzing noisily on the nightstand.

**Dan: Let me know when it’s a good time to head over.**

Arin looked at the clock - 10:17 am.  If he got up now and started cooking, he’d be done around 11:00 and Suzy would not be cranky with him if he woke her up then.  Plus, Dan only lived about 20 minutes away - it’d give the two of them time to figure out how they were going to do this.  

**Arin:  Now’s good.  I’ll get up soon and get food started.**

Arin sat up, stretching out his arms and giving a great yawn.  He searched around the bedroom for pajama pants and a shirt when his phone buzzed again, this time in his hand.

**Dan: Shit, did I wake you?  I’m sorry man.  I can give you some more time if you want?**

Arin smiled at the message.  Dan was nervous - he could tell just through his texts.  Not to say that Arin wasn’t nervous either, but he also wasn’t the demon in the equation.  Arin held the tank top he picked up between his teeth and he texted back using both hands.

**Arin:  It’s all right, don’t worry about it.  Needed to drag my ass out of bed anyway.**

Arin donned his shirt and quietly padded from the bedroom down the stairs.  When he reached the kitchen, he had another text.

**Dan: OK.  I’ll see you soon.**

He figured that last one didn’t warrant another text, so he went about rummaging in the kitchen, trying to figure out what he was going to make.  Eggs and bacon weren’t hard, and once he found a box of blueberry muffin mix his menu for the morning was decided.  He started a pot of coffee for Suzy and Dan (if he wanted it) and mixed the muffin ingredients together.  He had just put them in the oven when the doorbell rang.

Arin opened the door to a fidgeting Dan on his doorstep.  “Morning,” Dan greeted.

Arin smirked.  “What, no ‘good’ morning?”

Dan shot Arin a look.  “Considering what is about to happen later today, no, it’s not a good morning.  I’m lucky if it’s not the last morning I’ll ever see.”

Arin stifled a chuckle.  “You’re being dramatic.  Get in here.”  He opened the door wider to let Dan in the house.  

As they walked into the kitchen, Dan sniffed the air.  “I don’t know what you’re making, but something smells good.”

“It’s the blueberry muffins in the oven.  I haven’t started anything else.”  He walked over to the fridge while Dan sat at the small round table in the breakfast nook.  “Eggs and bacon okay?”

Dan nodded.  “Yeah, sounds great.”  Arin went to work, frying the bacon in the skillet and whipping the eggs together, and Dan chuckled softly.  “Not what I would have picked for my last meal, but beggars can’t be choosers”

Arin rolled his eyes.  “Stop talking like that.  Everything is going to work out fine.”

“How do you know, though?”

“Because I know my wife.”

“You know her as a human.”  Dan looked down at his hands, folded neatly on the table.  “If she is an angel, she’s completely hidden this side from you  _ and  _ me, and there’s no telling how she’s gonna react.”

Arin stared thoughtfully down at the skillet, contemplating Dan’s words, as he flipped the bacon.  “Let it go, Dan,” Arin said seriously.  “No use getting worked up over it.  Whatever happens, happens.”

Arin heard a deep sigh escape Dan’s lips, but his friend didn’t say anything else.  Arin worked in peace, taking the bacon off the heat and pulling the muffins out of the oven.  He went to start on the eggs, but he glanced at Dan, who was silently fidgeting with his hands, his forehead wrinkled in worry.  The fact was that as much as Arin had to lose, Dan had so much more at stake.  Arin would still have a long life, and odds were that if Suzy would help anyone regain their soul, it would be her husband; she wasn’t obligated to help Dan.  

But Arin also knew that Suzy was protective and full of love for  all of her friends - not just himself - and she would never let her anger at someone stop her from helping if they were truly in need.

Arin walked over to Dan, resting both hands on his shoulders to get his attention.  Dan looked up, eyes matching Arin’s, and the younger man smiled warmly.  “It’ll be okay, Dan.  I’m not just saying that because I know it’s what you wanna hear.  I’m saying that because I believe it.”

A cautious smile formed on Dan’s lips and he rested his right hand on top of Arin’s.  “Then… I believe you.”

A pleasant moment of silence passed between them, and for a moment Arin could forget the pandemonium of the last twenty-four hours.  Then, a new voice: “I hope I’m not interrupting something?”

Both men turned to the new figure in the room.  Suzy stood between the dining room and the living room, wearing one of Arin’s t-shirts, a pair shorts, and a sleepy smile as she studied her husband and Dan.  “Good morning, Dan,” she continued, smirking at Arin.  “I wasn’t aware we were having company this morning.”

It was true, in the craziness of the day before Arin had forgotten to tell her about their breakfast plans and make sure it was okay with her.  She didn’t seem pissed, though, and Dan was quick on the follow-up.  “Oh, you know, I was in the neighborhood and I thought I’d drop by  _ Café de Arín  _ so he could stop begging me to eat his eggs.”

Suzy laughed and Arin snorted.  “Hey, I just want you to eat my eggs so badly because I feel sorry for you.  You’re the one missing out, man.”  He turned to his wife.  “I was going to wake you up at eleven and surprise you,” he explained sheepishly.

She shrugged.  “I smelled bacon.  No going to sleep after that.”

“Fair enough.”  He walked over to her to give her a gentle ‘good morning’ kiss before going back to the kitchen to pour her a cup of coffee.  Any small thing he could do to butter her up before their conversation was definitely worth doing.  He brought her the mug and kissed the top of her head before starting work on his now world-famous eggs.

“So what’s the occasion?” Suzy turned her attention to Dan.

He shook his head.  “No occasion.  Just thought I’d drop by.”

Arin watched as Suzy narrowed her eyes and turned her attention to him.  He looked down to the eggs he was whisking and began whistling nonchalantly.  Suzy turned back to Dan.  “I know something’s up.”

Arin knew his wife was more astute than he gave her credit for.  He couldn’t lie to her, so he deflected instead.  “Can’t we just appreciate the fact that I am  _ slaving  _ away in the kitchen to make breakfast for my two most favorite people?”

Suzy shook her head and grinned, holding her hands up in defeat.  “Okay, okay.  Thank you,  _ oh great husband of mine _ .  I do not deserve your kindness or the spoils of your labor.”

Dan smiled at Suzy’s sarcastic deadpan.  “Yes, that goes double for me.  Except scratch out the husband part and put in bro.”

“Hey, you can’t piggy-back off of her gratitude!” Arin protested.  

“Watch me,” Dan challenged, lacing his fingers behind his neck.

Arin narrowed his eyes comically at Dan, causing him and Suzy to break down into giggles, before muttering, “Yeah, well, when you try these eggs you’re gonna be grovelling at my feet anyway, so.”

Arin poured the eggs into the skillet and started to scramble them, while Suzy and Dan conversed about her plans to have him and Brian on as special guests for KittyKatGaming.  Arin smiled to himself.   _ This is going to be fine.  Suzy is either going to know what to do or she won’t.  But she’ll understand.  She’ll still help us. _

Arin set three plates and brought two to the table before grabbing his own and sitting at the head of the table between Suzy and Dan.  Arin watched as Dan took a bite of the eggs first and he gave an appreciative moan.  “Okay, you were right, these are fucking fantastic.”

_ “Thank you,” _ Arin smugly answered, digging into his own plate.  “Now you can stop paying for overpriced eggs and just come here.”

“Oh my god, you two are ridiculous,” Suzy stated, biting into her muffin.

A smirk crossed Arin’s features.  “You wouldn’t have it any other way.”

She shrugged.  “It would certainly make my life a lot more boring.”

The rest of their meal was filled with light conversation of plans for their channels and what the week held in store, though both Arin and Dan were well aware that was all likely to change after their morning was over.  Once stomachs were full and plates were empty Arin opened his mouth to broach the real reason Dan was over, but then Dan beat him to it.  “Suzy,” Dan began, “I have to be honest with you.”  He took a deep breath.  “There is a reason I came over today.”

Suzy smiled warmly, placing a hand over Dan’s twitching one on the table.  “I already knew that.  You talk a smooth game, but you’ve been restless all morning.  What’s up?”

Dan chuckled nervously, pulling his hand away from Suzy’s.  A few moments of silence passed before he ran his hands over his face.  “God, this is so much harder than I thought it would be.”

Suzy’s expression changed from sympathetic to worried.  “What’s going on?” she pressed.  “Are you leaving the channel?”  She looked dubiously between Arin and Dan.  “You’re not running away with Arin, are you?” she asked flatly.

“No!” objected Dan as Arin had to stifle a chuckle.  “No, I’m not leaving the channel, and  _ no,  _ I’m not, fucking,  _ eloping  _ with Arin,” he laughed and suddenly the tension receded, but for only a moment.  When all the laughter had stopped, Dan tried to find his words again.  “It’s… a personal thing, I guess?”

Suzy stayed silent, waiting for Dan to continue, but when he didn’t Arin decided it was time to take the reins.  “Dan is a demon,” he blurted.

Dan’s gaze shot to Arin and his eyes widened.  “Arin!”

Arin smiled sheepishly.  “Sorry man, but it’ll be easier if we just get it out in the open.”

Suzy shook her head.  “I’m sorry, what?”

A harsh exhale from Dan, then, “I’m… not human, Suzy.  Not anymore, anyway.  I’m a demon.  I have been the entire time you’ve known me.”

Suzy regarded Dan with a watchful eye, turning to study Arin’s expression as well.  She slowly smiled.  “This is a joke right?  How did you guys come up with this?”

“Suzy, I’m not kidding.  I’m a demon.”

“Dude, you’re gonna have to show her like you did with me,” offered Arin.

Suzy suddenly looked alarmed.  “Show me?  What did he show  _ you?” _

Arin watched Dan put a hand to his temple, transforming in front of him and Suzy this time around.  A shudder crept up his spine; he was pretty sure he would never get used to seeing that.  He looked to his wife, who had a look of abject horror on her face, and gently placed a hand on her shoulder to bring her gaze to his.  “You knew about this?” she asked, horrified.

“I just found out yesterday,” Arin confessed.  “We wanted to tell you as soon as possible because he needs your help.”

Suzy whipped her gaze back to Dan, finding scarlet eyes.  “What could I  _ possibly _ help you with?”

“Suzy… you’re an angel, aren’t you?”

She looked at Dan like… well, like he had just sprouted horns and fangs.  “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

Dan shook his head.  “Dammit.  God _ dammit!”   _ He looked to Arin, hopeless.  “I don’t know what we’re gonna do.  I thought for sure…”

“You thought  _ what?”  _ Suzy was growing more agitated, no doubt disturbed by Dan’s revelation.   _ At least she’s handling it better than I did,  _ Arin thought.

Dan’s eyes found his feet, seemingly ashamed.  “I thought that you were an angel,” he said quietly, “that could help me.  Angels… they can restore humanity to demons.  And they can restore lost souls to humans.”  He swallowed thickly.  “Me being a demon is only half of this whole ordeal.  Umm… see, a long time ago, when you guys were still living in Florida, I appeared to Arin after you two got in a fight and convinced him to sell his soul to me.”

Arin blinked.

Suddenly, Suzy had Dan pinned against a wall, hands fisted in the lapels of his jacket, eyes blazing pure white as an aura of light surrounded her form.  Arin’s eyes widened in horror as Suzy growled.

“What have you  _ fucking done, Dan?” _


	5. The Threat

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> CW/TW: A bit of body horror description about three quarters of the way through this chapter so if that kind of thing bothers you, please tread with a little caution.

Arin held up his hands, palms facing outward, while rushing over to where Suzy had cornered Dan.  “Whoa, babe, calm down,” he tried to placate her.  “Let’s not do anything rash.” 

“Not do anything _rash?”_ Suzy wheeled on Arin, eyes still white, and Arin felt goosebumps prickle across his skin.  “Something rash like _selling your soul?_ What could he have _possibly_ offered you to make that seem like a good idea?!” 

“Please, Suzy,” Dan tried to placate, eyeing her warily, “it’s my fault, don’t blame Ar-” 

Suzy pulled Dan forward before slamming him back into the wall.  He winced.  “I wasn’t talking to you,” she spat angrily, “but don’t think you’re off the hook.”  She turned back to Arin.  “Well?”

The light surrounding Suzy practically vibrated with her rage and Arin took a step backwards.  “I’m _sorry,”_ he sincerely apologized, “it was wrong, and I shouldn’t have done it, you’re right.  I just wanted to be able to take care of us - to take care of you.”

“You sold your soul for money?!”

“For success!” he clarified, “For a happy life!”

White eyes met red.  “So everything we have, everything we’ve worked for, is a lie?”

Arin hadn’t even thought about what Suzy was implying, but he had to admit that the idea hurt.  He looked to the demon, imploring him for an answer.  Dan’s hands flew up in surrender.  “No, look, it’s not like that.  Everything you’ve worked for, that was you.  I may have had a hand here and there, but you wouldn’t have this all now if it weren’t for the work you put in first.”

“So it is all fake,” Arin concluded, and he couldn’t help the hurt showing on his face.

“No, Arin, listen to me--”

Suzy pressed further into Dan.  “Why should he?” she growled.

Arin felt his heart stir in empathy at the truly pained expression on Dan’s face.  “Because the only reason I’m here at all is because I care about him.  I care about _you.”_ He sighed and continued, defeated.  “I may have helped with getting the studio, a few sponsorship deals - made sure certain things went through to help you along.  But please believe me, all of your hard work wasn’t for nothing.”

Suzy looked to Arin, waiting for his reaction, but Arin couldn’t stay mad at his friend.  Not when he looked so distraught.  Not when he was clearly so helpless.  “I do believe you,” Arin said, prompting Suzy’s grip to loosen a little bit.  “Suzy, he’s still Dan.  He’s still our friend.  Let him go.”

Suzy stopped pressing Dan’s body into the wall but kept her hands on his jacket.  “Why are you telling me - telling us - all of this now?”

“I told you - I know you can restore my humanity and get Arin’s soul back.  Angels can do that.  And I’m so tired of this existence.”  Dan rested his head against the wall, his eyes slipping shut.  “Having to lie to innocent people, condemning them to an afterlife of torture and misery or gathering more souls… it’s not right.  I know it never has been.  I’m so _tired.”_

Arin looked to his wife as the light around her relented in its intensity.  He saw her green irises returning and her hands went from gripping Dan’s jacket to simply resting on his chest.  Maybe she was coming around?  Arin could only hope.

She regarded Dan with wary but sympathetic eyes.  “So you really do need my help.”

“Yes,” Dan whispered, near begging.  “You can save me.  Save Arin.  Save every soul I’ve made a contract with.”

Suzy worried her brow and shook her head.  “It’s not--you don’t know what you’re asking for, Dan.  It’s not that easy.”

“Why?  What are you-”

A loud banging on the front door sounded throughout the house, making all three of them jump.  Arin swallowed.  “I can, uh, get that.  Just… don’t hurt him, Suzy.”

She rolled her eyes.  “I won’t.”  She turned back to Dan.  “You may want to put the horns away, though.”

Dan nodded, placing a hand to his temple again, and Arin walked toward the living room making his way for the front door.  He put his hand on the door knob, took a deep breath, and opened the door like he hadn’t just witnessed his wife almost kill his best friend.  “Hi there, how can I help you?”

His smile quickly faded as he took in the two men in front of him, dressed in all black with matching slicked-back hair, sunglasses donning their eyes.  They stood stiff as a board with hands folded behind their backs, and Arin couldn’t help but think that they looked like knock-off agents from _The Matrix_ movies.  

“We’re here for a Mr. Leigh Avidan,” the one on the left said.

Arin tried desperately to calm his racing heart and school his expression into one of confusion or indifference.  “Uhh, well, he doesn’t live here,” he supplied, his tongue feeling slow to move.  It wasn’t _technically_ a lie.  

“We know he is here,” the man spoke again.  His voice was harder than before.  “We are here to collect him.”

Arin’s eyebrows almost disappeared into his hairline.  “Oh?  What did he do?”

“That’s none of your concern.”

The man on the right moved to enter the house but Arin closed the door as much as he could with his body blocking the rest entrance.  “Whoa there, you can’t just barge into my house!” he exclaimed.  “You gotta show me, like, a warrant or something first!”

“We don’t need a warrant.  We’ll just be taking him and then we’ll leave you alone.”

“The fuck you don’t need a warrant!”  Arin was getting angry.  “Who the hell do you think you are?”

“Baby, what’s going on?”  Suzy pushed her way into the doorway beside Arin,wrapping her arm around his waist and looking kindly up at the strangers on their doorstep.  “What can we do for you gentleman?”

“We are here to collect Mr. Leigh Avidan.”

“He’s not here,” Suzy lied smoothly, not a hint of deception in her voice.

The man to the left cocked his head toward his right shoulder.  “Our intel says otherwise.”

“Well, your intel is wrong,” Suzy rebutted, her voice firm.  “There’s no one here by that name.  You can be on your way now.”

The man peered down over his sunglasses, and Arin felt his stomach jump up into his throat as he saw bright red eyes studying him and Suzy.  “We will not be leaving without him,” he voiced with a dangerous growl.

Arin looked down at his wife and saw her eyes narrow before going completely white.   _“Over my dead body.”_

Arin whipped his head back to the men standing in front of them (who he now knew were demons) and watched as their eyes widened in fear and they took a few steps back.  Suzy was still glaring daggers at them as they spoke again.  “Clearly, now is a bad time.  We’ll be back at a later date.”  They took a few more steps backwards before turning and walking off of the property.  

Suzy was still glaring at their backs when Arin shut the door.  “What the fuck was that?” he asked her.

_“Who_ the fuck was that?” Dan asked, only just now entering the living room but having heard snippets of conversation.  

Suzy’s eyes faded back to the usual green, and she turned to Dan worriedly.  “Demons.  They’re coming after you.”

All color left Dan’s face as he reached for the couch in the living room, shakily sitting himself down.  “Fucking hell,” he whispered, his hands tangling in his hair.  “I thought I had more time.”  He shook his head.   _“Fuck!_ What am I gonna do?!”

Suzy quickly walked over and sat down beside him.  She placed a hand gently on his knee.  “You’re going to stay here, with me and Arin, until we can get this all sorted out.  They know I’m an angel but they’re scared of me.  They won’t take you if you stay here.”

Arin swallowed as he watched Suzy try to comfort Dan.  He quickly took to his knees on the floor and placed a hand on Dan’s other knee, mirroring Suzy.  “You’re not going anywhere, Dan.  We’re not letting them take you.  We’ll figure this out.”

Dan looked up, his eyes meeting Suzy’s, then Arin’s.  He pressed the heels of his hands into his eyes and then pulled them away.  “I don’t deserve you,” Dan murmured.  “Either of you.”

Suzy smiled sadly and reached for Dan’s shoulders, pulling him into her for a hug.  His arms wrapped around her waist as she stroked his hair.  “No, you don’t,” she said with humor evident in her voice.  “But that’s okay.  We love you anyway.”

Dan chuckled and squeezed her tighter before letting go.  Arin clapped his hand on Dan’s shoulder and gave him a warm, reassuring smile.  Even though he was still reeling from, well, _everything,_ he couldn’t help but feel that in that moment it would be okay.

-~*~-

Arin’s mind buzzed with a million questions as he lost yet another game of Mario Golf to Dan.  He had been playing video games with Dan all afternoon, trying to distract them both from the events of the morning.  After Dan had recovered from his near breakdown, Suzy had excused herself to be alone for while in the bedroom, saying she needed to do some thinking, some praying to figure out what she needed to do next.  Arin and Dan had sat in silence for about twenty minutes before the younger man had suggested they do something, _anything_ to keep them occupied.  It seemed to be working for Dan, but for every game Arin lost he thought of a handful of new questions.

The entire situation was so jarring.  Barely over twenty-four hours ago, he hadn’t believed in supernatural beings, in heaven or hell, in any of that stuff.  Now he a wife who was an angel, a best friend who was a demon, and the reality that if they didn’t succeed at getting Dan’s soul back he would end up where Dan was right now.

Dan got up from the sofa and Arin blinked twice, coming out of his stupor and watching his friend turn off the gaming console and then switch off the TV.  “Hey, what did you do that for?” Arin asked with a smirk.  “I gotta win my pride back.”

Dan laughed softly and shook his head, folding his arms.  “Dude, you are in another world.  It’s not fun winning when you’re not even trying.”

Arin’s smirk faded as he looked down at his lap and placed the controller on the coffee table.  “I’m sorry, man.  I just have, like, a thousand questions in my brain and I’m kinda… stupefied, I guess.”

Dan nodded, reclaiming his spot on the couch but this time tucking his legs up under him as he faced Arin.  “So ask ‘em.  I’m here for the foreseeable future, and… I owe you answers.”  He shrugged.  “It’s the absolute _least_ I can do.”

Arin’s brow furrowed.  “I don’t even know where to start.”

“That’s okay.  I’ll wait.”

Arin closed his eyes and sorted through the racing thoughts in his mind.  He started with what was probably the most obvious question.  “How does this all work?  Angels and demons, heaven and hell?”

Dan pursed his lips together in thought.  “Well, it’s not really heaven and hell.  That’s what a lot of humans ascribe it to be, but the afterlife isn’t strictly biblical.  Demons don’t call it hell, we call it the Underworld.  And where angels reside, that’s the Overworld.  But those pretty much sum up the similarities, comparing it to heaven or hell.”

Arin nodded.  “One isn’t inherently better than the other?”

Dan looked down at his hands folded in his lap.  “That’s not entirely true.  The Underworld… it’s not a good place.  The only souls that end up there are ones that have made deals with demons, which is pretty fucking terrible because a lot of good people end up down there.  Demons… we tempt people with better lives now for perpetual suffering later.  It’s awful.”

Arin tried desperately to wrap his mind around the idea.  “So… when people make deals with demons, they doom themselves to the Underworld.  But people who don’t make deals - or, who never get approached by demons, they automatically get to go to the Overworld?”

A shrug from Dan.  “Basically.  Yeah.”

“That’s… fucked up.”  Dan hummed in agreement.  Arin cracked his knuckles, still thinking.  “What makes the Overworld better than the Underworld?  If it’s not heaven and hell, then what is it?”

Dan worried his bottom lip.  “I can’t really say much for the Overworld, because I haven’t been there myself.  But from what I’ve heard, it’s a much better Afterlife than the alternative.  It’s not a perfect world, by any means - no euphoria or paradise - but most of the strife we face down here is removed.  It’s a peaceful existence.”

Arin gave another nod.  “And the Underworld?”

Dan’s expression grew even more somber, if that were even possible.  “When you agree to a contract with a demon, you’re signing over your entire being.  Once you die, you belong to them.”

Arin swallowed thickly.  “You know, if I had known about that when I made that fucking deal with you I wouldn’t have done it,” he muttered, his hands fidgeting.

“Well, of course you wouldn’t have,” Dan replied with a roll of his eyes.  “It’s kind of our job to keep that part of the contract on the DL.”

Arin really wasn’t sure he wanted to ask the next question that came to mind, but he found himself talking before he could stop himself.  “What did they do to you in the Underworld, before you agreed to collecting souls?”

Dan inhaled deeply through his nose and looked like he was going to be sick.  Arin regretted asking.  “It’s… the worst pain I’ve ever felt.  Day after day.”  His hands started shaking and Arin wanted so badly to reach out take them in his own, so he did just that.  Dan didn’t look up as Arin’s hands wrapped around his, just continued staring downwards, his mind clearly somewhere else entirely.  “It felt like… like I was being torn apart.  Physically, emotionally.  Like… they would tear off my toes, one by one.  Then my fingers.  Then my knees, my elbows, and so on.  But there’s no passing out from the pain, no eventual death - you’re just… left to feel every muscle and tendon rip, bone crunch - and screaming in agony just encourages them more.  You lie there, knowing that you did this to yourself while they’re whispering to you that no one misses you, that you deserve this.  They break you, in _every_ sense of the word.  And then when they finally stop it’s just long enough for them to put you back together so they can do it all over again.”  Dan finally looked up at Arin, a fake smile stretching across his lips.  “That’s what it’s like on a _good_ day.  If they’re feeling particularly vicious it can be worse than that.”

Arin felt like vomiting, but he swallowed thickly and took a deep breath to calm his nerves.  What was he supposed to say to that?  How the fuck was he supposed to process that kind of haunting information?  And to think it could happen to him… “Fuck,” Arin replied weakly, “demons are dicks.”

For some reason, that last statement broke Dan out of his horrified trance and soon he was laughing hysterically, clutching his stomach and taking Arin with him.  “Oh my _god,”_ Dan wheezed out as his and Arin’s laughter began to die down, “I give this terrible description of what the Underworld is like and all you can say is ‘demons are dicks?’”

“What am I supposed to say?” Raising his hands and shaking his head, Arin continued sarcastically, “Sounds like a blast!  When do I get to go there?”

Their laughter died down and Dan looked at Arin thoughtfully.  “You know I regret it, right?  Dragging you into all this?  I would never wish the Underworld on you now.”

“Of course.  You wouldn’t have told me if you didn’t.  Hell, you wouldn’t even _be_ here.”

Dan nodded as if to reassure himself.  Arin wanted to wipe the look of worry off his friend’s face so badly, but before he could suggest changing the topic or doing something else altogether, he blurted out another question.  “What did you do?”

Dan looked at him in confusion.  “Huh?”

Arin shut his mouth to gather his thoughts before carefully rewording his question.  “I mean, what deal did you make?  You had to have, right?  Otherwise you wouldn’t be here.”

Arin watched Dan’s face fall.  Goddammit, did he really have to open his big mouth?  “You know what,” Arin said quickly, “never mind.  You don’t have to tell me - it was rude to ask-”

“No, Arin, it’s okay,” Dan reassured him with a sad smile.  “You deserve answers to every question you have.  I can talk about it.  It’s... been a while.”  He leaned back on the sofa, resting his hands behind his head.  “There was this girl.  I was in a relationship with her at the time, and I loved - well, _thought_ I loved her.”  A deep breath.  “There was an accident and she was on death’s doorstep.  The doctors said she wasn’t coming back.  I remember being at the hospital late one night at the edge of her bed, desperately wishing there was something I could do.  And then there was.”  Dan paused, and Arin waited for him to continue.  “A demon showed up, right in the hospital room, and offered me a deal: my life for hers.”  He shrugged.  “I jumped at the opportunity, said yes without even thinking twice.  He informed me that he’d be back for me when our relationship was over - that was how long I had to live - and disappeared.  She woke up the next morning.”

Dan stopped but Arin knew there was more.  Why would he be a demon if there wasn’t?  “What happened?” he pressed, feeling guilty for even asking.

“She called things off a few weeks later.  After the accident, she had to relearn how to walk, how to drive, how to do all of the most inane tasks of everyday life, and it was too much for her.  She told me she couldn’t handle a relationship at the time, that as much as she cared about me - about us - she needed time to herself to recover and be on her own.  She thought I was too invested and she felt like she wasn’t at a place to reciprocate.  I tried to tell her how much she meant to me without telling her what I had done, but she wouldn’t budge.  She said we could try again later, when she was more independent and strong, but I knew,” he swallowed and shook his head, “I knew there wouldn’t be a next time.  I left the hospital with a broken heart, and when I got home the demon was there waiting for me.”

Arin watched Dan curl in on himself, watched him close his eyes tightly and his face twist in distress. “I fucking _gave my life_ for hers, and it didn’t matter in the end.  Her life was going to be over, and I couldn’t bear the thought of my life without her so I gave mine instead and it blew up in my face.”  Dan looked at Arin and Arin felt his heart ache when he saw unshed tears in Dan’s eyes.  “And the worst part is that I get it.  I can’t be mad at her.  I was young and stupid and… completely fucked.  She ended it so she could get better, and my life was literally over.  Simple as that.”  Dan laughed self-deprecatingly.  “Jesus, I was such an idiot.”

Arin opened his mouth to speak but Suzy was leaning over the back of the couch seemingly out of nowhere and wrapping her arms around Dan’s shoulders, pulling him into her.  He visibly relaxed in her grasp.  Arin looked at her, secretly wishing he could be the one to comfort Dan the way she did.  “How long have you been eavesdropping?” Arin asked, a gentle smile on his lips.

“Long enough,” she replied simply.  “You’re not stupid, Dan.  You’re a good person with better intentions, and other people are dumb for not realizing what they have.”

It suddenly made sense to Arin why Dan didn’t have really relationships anymore, why he still kept the people in his life whom he loved at a certain arm’s length.  He didn’t want to get hurt.  He didn’t want to hurt others the way he had been.  Arin couldn’t blame Dan for keeping everything a secret for so long.  He reached out a squeezed Dan’s hand, and was surprised when his friend squeezed back.

Suzy held Dan tightly for a few more moments before letting go and coming to perch on the coffee table in front of him and Arin.  She inhaled deeply before saying, “I have good news, and possibly bad news.”

Arin steeled himself and glanced at Dan, who was rigid in place.  “What’s the good news?” Arin prompted.

“The good news is that I can get your soul back, Dan.  And every soul connected to it.  We can undo it.”

Dan’s eyes widened and he smiled hopefully.  Arin couldn’t help from mirroring Dan’s expression.  “That’s wonderful, Suzy!”  Dan was almost giddy.  “What do we have to do?”

Suzy brow wrinkled in concern.  “Well… that’s the possibly bad news.”  She swallowed before looking at them both.  “You might want to stay sitting for this.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you enjoyed the extra long chapter! Again, I try to update weekly so keep an eye out next week for the new chapter.


	6. The Complication

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know it's been longer than a week since I updated. All I can say is that I've been sorting out some shit over the last few weeks. But here, have a chapter that's almost twice as long as what it should be as my apology!

Arin shared a concerned gaze with Dan and then he turned to Suzy.  “Okay, so what is it?”  
  
She inhaled deeply.  “A ritual - a ceremony, of sorts.  There are some rules we have to follow, some… things we have to do.”  
  
Suzy’s vagueness did not help sooth Arin’s worry, and apparently it did nothing for Dan either because his mind jumped to the worst possible thing.  “We don’t have to, like, perform a human sacrifice or anything, do we?” Dan asked, his voice soft and face pale.  
  
“No, no!” Suzy was quick to reassure him.  “No, nothing like that.  You don’t perform an evil act to get rid of an evil - that’s not how we do things in the Overworld.”  
  
Dan nodded.  “Makes sense.  Sounds more like something a demon would do anyway.”  
  
“So what _is_ it?” Arin pressed.  He was glad they had ruled out _killing_ someone, but Suzy still hadn’t told them what they _did_ have to do.  
  
“Um…” Suzy actually blushed, a rare color on her, and Arin reached out to take her hand.  She let her hand be held but did not wrap her fingers around his.  Arin’s worry grew.  “We have to be - I think the angels said, bonded.  Intimately.”  
  
Suzy looked at Dan, but when he nor Arin said anything, she turned to her husband and stared him directly in the eye.  “We, Dan and I, uh, we have to have sex.  It’s part of the ritual.”  
  
Arin felt like he had been slapped in the face while Dan immediately got to his feet and started spluttering.  “I’m sorry, _what?_ Surely there has to be another way!”  
  
Suzy found Dan’s eyes, blush still tinging her cheeks, and Arin let go of her hand, trying to process everything.  “The ritual is very specific, and if I’m going to restore your soul, we have to be connected.  Bonded.”  
  
“We can’t just hold hands or some shit?!”  
  
“No,” Suzy said through an awkward chuckle, “we can’t.  This is what we have to do.  This is what you wanted, right?  Restore your soul and humanity?”  
  
“Yeah but not by fucking my best friend’s _wife!”_ Dan looked at Arin’s expression and sat back down.  “I’ll find another angel.”  
  
“How, Dan?” Suzy asked.  “How are you gonna find another angel?  The minute you walk out the front door, you’re gone.  Demons are already after your ass to take you back to the Underworld.  And I hate to break it to you, but demons outnumber angels ten to one.  The odds of finding another one just hanging out in LA are slim to none.”  
  
Dan ran his hands roughly through his hair, giving a frustrated sigh.  He looked at Arin again, whose face was blank and it would have been comical if the situation were not what it was.  “You can’t be okay with this.”  
  
Arin’s brow was worried, his lips pursed together.  His mind raced with thoughts and emotions.  Shock, for one, and some frustration, sure.  But also determination and relief, because they knew what they had to do now, and it was possible, even if it might make things weird later.  Worry, because how was this going to turn out okay and could they even keep Dan safe long enough to do it?  And jealousy… which he would unpack later.  Not now.  He shook his head, as if to clear it, and met Dan’s gaze.  “What choice do we have?”  Dan’s eyes widened and Arin continued on, “Suzy’s right - this is our only shot.  And I’ve got a stake in this too.  If you’re taken back to the Underworld, I’m fucked.”  He shrugged.  “Gotta do whatcha gotta do.”  
  
Dan swallowed thickly and looked between Arin and Suzy.  Leaning back on the couch and looking up at the ceiling, he spoke slowly, carefully laboring over each word.  “I’m not okay with this.  But.  I’m not saying I won’t do it.”  A pause.  “I need some time to wrap my head around it all.”  
  
Suzy nodded reassuringly even though Dan wasn’t looking at her.  “That’s fair.  It’d probably be good for us too, not to jump into anything immediately.”  She looked at Arin, who nodded.  “You can just stay here until you’re ready.”  
  
A beat of silence and then Dan spoke again.  “The fuck am I supposed to tell Barry?”  
  
Arin barked out a laugh and soon Suzy was smiling.  “Of all the things to be concerned about, that’s what gets you?”  
  
Dan chuckled, rubbing the back of his neck.  “Well, yeah.  I mean, of _course_ I’m worried about everything else, but it’s better to distract myself with the more unimportant shit in the meantime.”  
  
“Just… tell him you’re having a sleepover?” Suzy suggested.  
  
“Or don’t tell him anything until he says something first.  You can deal with it then,” said Arin.  
  
“Ah yes, the avoidance tactic.”  A deep breath from Dan.  “I’ll text him later.  God, what a mess this is.”  
  
“It’s a mess, but we’ll get it cleaned up, Dan,” Suzy said, her tone gentle and understanding.  “Don’t worry about it.”  
  
The three of them were awkwardly silent for a few beats before Arin clapped his hands and spoke.  “Is anyone else hungry?  Because I’m starving.  I could go for some Chinese food.”  
  
Suzy and Dan both smiled at him and Arin wanted them to stay like that forever.  It had been a hell of a day and to see his two favorite people both genuinely smiling - the world felt right again.  “That sounds awesome to me,” Dan said.  
  
“Me too,” Suzy chimed in.    
  
Arin stood and stretched his muscles.  “Everyone want the usual?”  With nods from both Suzy and Dan, he grabbed his phone and dialed the number for their usual take-away joint.  “And hey, maybe when the food gets here, we could watch a movie.  I was thinking… _Jaws?"  
  
_ Dan’s grin grew, clearly grateful for the distraction.  “That sounds great, man.  Thanks.”

-~*~-

Arin sat on the bed with Suzy’s legs draped over his lap, her fingers carding gently through his hair.  His eyes slipped shut as he rested his head in the crook of her neck, arms wrapping around her waist.  “What’s going on in your head?” she asked.  
  
The rest of the evening had been wonderful.  No one had mentioned the elephant in the room - they had just eaten their food and watched _Jaws_ as if nothing had changed.  The three of them had played some more video games after that, and only when all of them were yawning did they decide it was time for sleep.  Suzy set up the guest room for Dan, and then they all said their goodnights and retreated for some deserved rest.  
  
But now that Arin was alone with his wife, he couldn’t make his brain shut off.  Suzy had gotten mostly ready for bed while he had sat on the bed, staring blankly at the wall, trying to figure out how to feel and what to think.  She had coaxed him back against the headboard and crawled into his lap, only speaking when he seemed to come out of his reverie.  
  
He squeezed her tight.  “Just trying to make sense of it all.”  
  
She nodded, pressing a kiss to his temple.  “It’s a lot to take in, I know.”  
  
“Why didn’t you tell me?  That you were an angel?”  
  
“I couldn’t babe,” she replied, her voice soft with what seemed to be guilt.  “I wanted to, I really did.  I hate keeping anything from you.  But I didn’t really have a choice in the matter.  Angels can’t just walk around and announce who we are.  Everything would dissolve into chaos.”  
  
“Did you know Dan was a demon?"  
  
She shook her head.  “No.  I usually have a feeling when a demon is nearby, but Dan was exceptionally good at hiding it.  Even though his soul is gone he still has a lot of his humanity.  It’s easy for him to play human.”  
  
Arin inhaled deeply and her perfume mixed with the familiar scent he knew only as her shook him to the core.  “Are you mad with me for putting us in this situation?”  
  
“What?”  Suzy leaned back, forcing Arin’s head off her shoulder and taking his face between her hands, looking at him intently.  “No, of course not, baby.  Dan may have offered you the deal and you may have taken it, but…” she brushed a piece of Arin’s hair behind his ear, “but if I had protected you like I was supposed to, and not let a stupid fight get between us…”  
  
He shushed her and brought his lips to her forehead.  “Stop it.  If this was anyone’s fault, it’s certainly not yours.”  He wrapped her in his arms again and brought her body flush against his, his chin resting on the top on her head.    
  
“It’s all our faults,” she decided as she laced her fingers with his.  “If I had protected you, if you had just said no, if Dan had just minded his own fucking business...” Arin chuckled.  “But you know,” she went on, “if all this hadn’t happened, who knows where he’d be now.  He wouldn’t be your best friend, that’s for sure.  He may not even have had a chance to be free from all this.  It could be a good thing in the long run.”  
  
Arin remained quiet.  Suzy spoke again.  “Your silence is awfully loud.”  
  
He sighed.  “I don’t know how I feel about what you have to do.”  
  
“You don’t know, or you don’t _want_ to know?”  
  
A harsh exhale from him.  She always knew how to draw what he was feeling out of him.  “I’m jealous.  I don’t want to be, but I am.”  
  
“Jealous that I’m going to have to sleep with him?”  
  
“Jealous that he gets to sleep with _you,”_ he emphasized, trying to get his point across.  
  
She hummed in acknowledgement.  “That’s okay, babe.  We’ve talked about this before.”  
  
“We’ve talked about what would happen if _I_ got the chance to sleep with him, not if _you_ did.”  
  
She leaned back and looked her husband in the eye.  “I know you love him.”  
  
He shrugged.  “Of course I do.  He’s my best friend.”  
  
Suzy leaned away from Arin to stare at him intently.  Arin rolled his eyes.  “Okay, so I have a crush.  I’ve had a crush for ages.  I’ve handled it fine all this time.  I can handle it now.”  
  
“You’re going to be able to handle the woman you love and the man you love getting it on without you?”  
  
Arin’s skin prickled and he furrowed his brow in distaste.  “I would prefer if you didn’t put it that way.”  
  
“Why?  Because it’s true?  That’s what’s going to happen, Arin.  You sold your soul and I can’t just let you rot in the Underworld for it later.  This isn’t a matter of if it happens, but when.”  
  
Arin sulked.  Emotions were fucking annoying.  He didn’t know what his jealousy meant, but Suzy usually had a good read on him.  If she was right… he didn’t want to think what that meant.  He wasn’t ready to face what was ahead.  
  
Suzy repositioned herself to straddle Arin’s lap, lifting his chin to look at her with the tips of her fingers and a soft “Hey.”  He saw in her a peace and confidence that he only wished he had.  She leaned forward to press her lips to his, and he silently wished that some of her calmness would rub off on him.  She pulled away, resting her forehead against his.  “It’ll be all right.”  
  
His hands found her waist and he nodded.  “Promise?”  
  
She smiled warmly.  “Promise.”  
  
She kissed him again, this time lingering, and pressed closer to him in his lap.  His arms wrapped around her, with his right hand creeping up her back to tangle itself into her dark locks as he pulled her forward to close what remaining gap was between their bodies.  He wanted to go back to before all this, before things got complicated.  He lost himself in her kiss, in her body, in his want for her.  
  
His mind began to wander - how would Dan do this?  Would it be like this, with her in his lap or reversed?  Would Dan treat her the way she deserved, be worshipped and adored, realize how goddamn lucky he was to share it with her?    
  
What would it be like it it were Arin instead of Suzy?  Would Dan have resigned himself so quickly, treat him the way he’d treat her...  
  
Suzy wrapped her arms around Arin’s shoulders and sighed against his mouth, pulling his bottom lip between her teeth.  A groan fell from his lips as his brain short-circuited and his wondering ceased, and his left hand found its way to her ass, kneading as his tongue swiped into her mouth--  
  
A loud crash from down the hall startled them both, causing them to pull apart from each other with worried eyes.  Another loud thump, followed by a yell quickly cut off into silence.  
  
Suzy swallowed.  “Shit.”  
  
Suzy was off of Arin in a flash, moving quicker than he’d ever seen.  She threw open the door and ran down the hallway to the guest bedroom, Arin following quickly behind, the hot arousal he had felt moments before morphing into cold dread.  She raised her hands as if she were casting a spell before she got to the door and it flew off the hinges, careening backwards into the room.  They ran inside, and Arin’s stomach dropped to his knees at the sight before them.  
  
A tall creature, easily over eight feet tall, skin gray and scaly, body bony and gaunt with giant ram horns sticking out of his head held Dan up off the ground by his throat.  Dan kicked and flailed, hands wrapped around the claws of the monster keeping him in place, wheezing for breath.  The monster wheeled on Arin and Suzy and Arin stumbled backwards at the sight of red serpent-like eyes.    
  
“Stay back!” Suzy called over her shoulder to Arin.  “Close your eyes!”  
  
“What?” Arin yelled back.  “What are you going to do?!”  
  
The creature started lumbering toward them and gave an ear-piercing shriek, revealing two inch yellowed fangs instead of teeth, and Arin grabbed Suzy and pulled her against him.  Dan was starting to fade, his efforts to fight back waning, and Suzy looked to Arin once more.  “Close your eyes!  Trust me!”  
  
Arin did as he was told, and just as he felt the monster towering above them, he heard Suzy yell something in a language he didn’t understand and saw a bright flash of light from behind his eyelids.  The creature screamed again, and Arin’s eyes snapped open.  Suzy yelled once more and a light so bright that Arin couldn’t keep his eyes open to look at it, shot out of her hands toward the monster.  Arin saw the creature drop Dan and stagger backwards, its hands coming up to rub at its eyes.  
  
Suzy stepped forward and bellowed, _“Get out of my house!”_ in what Arin could only describe as a supernatural voice that vibrated through his entire being.  No wonder Suzy hadn’t told him she was an angel - she was downright frightening as one.  
  
The creature took a few more steps backwards, screamed again, and disappeared in a flash-bang of fire and thunder.  Suzy rushed over to Dan, who was gasping for breath and curled up into a fetal position on the floor, as Arin’s feet stayed rooted to his spot, terrified to move.  “I’m so sorry, Dan,” Suzy murmured, placing his head gently in her lap.  “I shouldn’t have left you alone.  I didn’t think they would try to hurt you if you were in our house with us, but clearly I was wrong.”  
  
Dan grabbed Suzy’s hand, which had been pushing Dan’s hair off his face, and squeezed it.  “It’s okay,” he said, wheezing.  “You saved me.  Again.  Fuck I really owe you now.”  
  
She giggled and shushed him, placing a finger over his lips.  Arin watched the exchange, and _goddammit,_ there was the jealousy stirring again.  But instead of focusing on that emotion, he forced his mind back to the fear he felt earlier and stuttered out, “Wh-what the fuck was that thing?!”  
  
“Another demon,” Suzy supplied.  
  
“A demon?   _That_ was a demon?! I thought demons looked like people!”  
  
“They do,” she answered, “but that demon has probably been one for centuries now.  The longer you are one, the more of a monster you become.”  
  
“Holy fuck,” Arin muttered.  “If they take Dan back, is he going to turn into one of those too, eventually?”  
  
“Well, first off, they’re _not_ taking him,” Suzy replied, a fierceness in her voice.  
  
“And no,” Dan croaked, “if they take me back I’m just going to go back to being another tortured soul for all eternity.”  
  
“Stop talking,” Suzy scolded.  “Rest your voice and focus on your breathing.  And stop saying ‘if.’  They’re not going to take you back there.”  
  
Dan did as he was told, breathing in deeply through his nose, and Arin cautioned a few steps toward them, crouching down when he was next to them.  He reached out a tentative hand and pushed back Dan’s hair, much the same way Suzy had moments before.  Arin’s eyes met Dan’s, and he couldn’t stop the grateful smile pulling at his lips.  “I’m glad you’re okay, man.”  
  
Dan smiled and nodded, patting Arin’s thigh in a ‘me too’ gesture.  Dan’s eyes were watery, and as Arin leaned closer he could see they were rimmed with red - not in a demon-like way, but in a regular, human, eyes-were-irritated kind of way.  “Dude, your eyes are bloodshot to hell.”  
  
“That’s my fault,” Suzy confessed.  “Dan’s still a demon.  The White Light I used probably hurt him as well.”  She looked at Dan upside down.  “I’m sorry about that too.”  He waved her off, and Suzy turned back to Arin.  “Could you go downstairs and get some ice in a bag and a towel?  Something cold will help.”  
  
Arin nodded and stood.  “I’ll be right back.”  He left the room and headed downstairs, but once he descended to the lower landing he was greeted with a pitch black living room and kitchen.  His heart started beating harder, adrenaline still pumping from what had happened minutes earlier, and he walked quickly toward the kitchen, flipping on every light between the stairs and the refrigerator along the way.  He felt ridiculous, like his imagination was getting the better of him and making him think there was danger lurking around every corner and appliance.  But considering what had just happened, every precaution felt necessary.  
  
He filled a freezer bag a quarter full of ice from the fridge and grabbed a clean towel from under the sink.  He also grabbed a cup and filled it with some water for Dan; it would be good for his throat.  Once he had everything he needed, he walked across the kitchen toward the living room, not bothering to turn off the lights.  Their power bill would not skyrocket for one night of leaving the downstairs lit, he reasoned, and frankly Arin felt much safer in the light than in the dark at the moment.  
  
He walked back into the guest bedroom, Suzy and Dan not having moved, and handed the ice pack to Suzy.  He sat down next to them on the floor and placed the glass of water in Dan’s hand.  “Drink this.  It’ll help.”  
  
Dan sat up enough to down half of the glass in one go, then laid back down as Suzy placed the ice pack gently over his eyes.  They stayed like that for a while, the three of them sitting in silence with Dan taking deep breaths before Suzy whispered, “This is my fault.”  
  
Arin’s gaze shot up to her.  “Don’t do that,” he warned her.  “This isn’t your fault - that’s ridiculous.”  
  
She bowed her head, not convinced.  “I should have been paying more attention.  If I hadn’t let myself get… distracted, I could have sensed that something was wrong.”  
  
“Suzy,” Dan said, his voice sounding better and he peeked out from under the pack, “you can’t think like that.  It could have been a hell of a lot worse.”  
  
“Yeah,” Arin jumped in, “we’d be fucked without you.  Give yourself some credit.”  
  
Suzy smiled appreciatively and gestured for Arin to come closer.  When he did, she leaned in to kiss him like she had before they had been interrupted.  She pulled away and bent over, placing a kiss on Dan’s forehead as well.  Arin smirked as Dan blushed.  
  
“We should probably try to sleep,” she said, her thanks a silent understanding.  “You feeling better?” she asked Dan.  
  
He nodded.  “Yeah.  I’m okay.”  
  
She slid out from under his head and stood, Arin reaching his hand down to help Dan to his feet.  Dan took the ice pack off of his eyes and Arin could see that his eyes weren’t as swollen or red, but still pretty watery; at least it was getting better.  Suzy grabbed Arin’s hand, then Dan’s, and she led them out of the guest room to the master bedroom.  
  
When they entered the room, she let go of both of their hands and turned to face them.  She locked eyes with Dan.  “Get in the bed,” she said with a nod of her head.  
  
Dan frowned and tilted his head.  “Suzy, I’m not kicking you out of your own bed.”  
  
She shrugged.  “You’re not going to.  You’re going to sleep next to me.”  She turned to her husband.  “Arin too.”  
  
Arin’s eyes widened and looked at Dan, who was staring at Suzy with a slack jaw.  “Wh-what?”  
  
She crossed her arms resolutely.  “Clearly, three rooms away is too far.  They won’t touch you if you’re between us.”  
  
“Why does he have to be between us?” Arin asked before he could stop himself.  
  
“They won’t bother me because I’m stronger than them.  And they won’t bother you, Arin, because you still have a contract through Dan.  They still want you to be safe and happy because you have a deal with them.”  
  
“They’re not gonna try to come after me because I’m trying to get out of it?”  
  
“They can’t,” Dan jumped in, resigned.  “It’s part of the contract.”  
  
“So it’s settled,” Suzy replied.  “It’s what makes the most sense and will protect Dan.”  She took a deep breath.  “I’m gonna go brush my teeth.  You two just… get comfortable, I guess.”  She turned to head into the bathroom, but Arin could see the slight blush on her cheeks before she shut the door behind her.  
  
Arin’s eyes stayed glued to the door for a few seconds before he turned to look at Dan who, like Suzy, was blushing.  “Um,” Dan began, far from eloquent, “I’m, uh, sorry.”  
  
Arin cocked a brow.  “For what?”  
  
Dan’s hand came up to rub the back of his neck nervously.  “For… making this so difficult.  So awkward.  I’m literally coming between you and your wife.”  
  
Arin chuckled.  “Well, you’re gonna be _lying_ between us, not _coming_ between us.”  
  
And just like that, the tension snapped and Dan was shoving Arin, laughing so hard he was squeaking.  “Dude, _stop.”  
  
_ Arin was laughing too as he walked to his side of the bed and turned down the covers.  “Anyway, stop apologizing, man.  It is what it is.”  He shrugged.  “It could be worse.”    
  
“You’re being… awfully chill about this?” Dan said, coming around the bed and sitting on Suzy’s side.  “I dunno, I figured you’d be more upset.”  
  
Arin sat on the bed and drew the sheets up over his lap.  “I mean, we’re just sharing a bed.  It might be a bit tight but it doesn’t have to be that weird.”  
  
Dan looked down at his lap, scratching the top of his head and mussing his hair.  “What about everything else?”  
  
A deep breath from Arin.  “We’ll… cross that bridge when we get there.”  
  
“Do you think this is gonna fuck us up?”  
  
Silence.  “I hope it doesn’t.  I don’t want it to.”  
  
“I don’t either.”  Dan looked to Arin, deadly serious.  “I don’t wanna lose you.  Or Suzy.  If you want me out of your life after all this is over, then I totally get it and I’ll do whatever you want.”  
  
_But what if I want you to stay?  What then?  
  
_ “I don’t want to hurt you and Suzy, though,” Dan continued.  “You gotta tell me if I, like, cross any boundaries or anything.”  
  
Arin shook his head and reached out to rest a hand gently on Dan’s shoulder.  “Dan, calm down.”  He offered a reassuring smile.  “We’ll make it work.”  
  
It took a moment for Dan to smile back, but when he did he placed and hand over Arin’s and relief flooded through Arin’s veins.  They would be okay.  He _knew_ they would be.  
  
Suzy opened the door at that moment.  She walked over to table on her side of the bed, plugging in her cell phone to charge, and nudged Dan with her shoulder.  He scooted over to let Suzy perch on the edge of the bed, and when she finally got between the covers she turned an amused eye to him.  “You plan on letting me have more than a sliver of the bed?”  
  
Dan chuckled nervously and scooted closer to Arin.  Suzy leaned over him to peck Arin on the lips good night, and then kissed Dan’s cheek as well.  She settled between the covers on her side, back facing the boys, and talked over her shoulder.  “If you two wanna make out or anything all I ask is that you don’t wake me up.”  
  
Dan spluttered a laugh and rolled his eyes while Arin smirked at his wife’s wit and turned off the end table lamp, covering the room in darkness.  “Don’t worry, baby.  If we do wake you we’ll let you join in on the fun.”  
  
“You better,” Arin could hear her mutter while Dan shook his head, a smile still on his lips.  They both laid down, Arin distinctly aware of every place where his body touched Dan’s.    
  
He cleared his throat.  “Sleep well,” he offered softly, meaning it for both of them but locking eyes with Dan’s.  The older man smiled lopsidedly and nodded his head in response before turning over on his side face Suzy’s back.  
  
Arin stayed like that for a while, on his back, not daring to move for bothering the other two sharing the bed.  It was almost an entire hour later when he finally felt his eyelids begin to droop, but a rustling to his left made him startle out of his dozing.  He turned to see that Dan had switched sides now, facing Arin and looking… beautiful.  A mess of curls shrouded his face, but Arin could make out the splay of eyelashes, the soft pout of his lips, the rhythm of his breathing…  
  
Arin turned on his side, away from Dan, and shut his eyes tightly.  Damn Suzy and her intuition.  Damn Dan for getting them into this fucking mess.  
  
Damn himself for getting this far gone.


	7. The Confidant

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Let's switch things up with some Dan POV, shall we?

Monday rolled around, and the trio found themselves carpooling to work from Arin and Suzy’s place, Dan in the back seat as Arin drove and Suzy rode shotgun.  Dan propped his elbow against the car window, blankly staring outside as the scenery slowly passed.

The rest of the weekend had been fine.  Sunday saw the three of them sleeping late and spending the day together by running back to Dan’s place while Barry was out to get some things he’d need to stay with Suzy and Arin.  They also went grocery shopping, and after that spent the rest of the night hanging out at the house doing a lot of nothing.  It had been fun, but also weird because it felt like Dan was privy to the life of Arin and Suzy at home, together and away from everyone else.  Some of the simple intimacies felt like something he didn’t have any right to be a part of.  But he had been, and it had felt… absurdly natural.

On Monday morning, Dan had woken up early with Arin’s head pillowed on his chest and Suzy curled up into his side.  Maybe he thought it felt nice and decided not to wake them, to revel in their warmth instead.  Maybe he watched them both slowly wake, Arin staring at Dan with bleary eyes, Suzy stretching like a cat and offering a smile once her senses came to her. Maybe he thought they were both pretty cute.

Maybe he could get used to this.

Dan exhaled sharply and rested his forehead against the glass.  “You okay, man?” Arin asked, glancing at him in the rear view mirror.

“Yeah, I’m fine,” Dan said, trying to offer a smile.  “Just a lot on my mind is all.”

Arin nodded, returning his concentration to the road.  “That’s fair.”

Dan inhaled deeply and closed his eyes.  He was getting himself into trouble.  He was already asking so much from them, and now his daydreams consisted of wanting even more.

Suzy was beautiful - stunning, even, and hey if he _had_ to have sex with her to get his soul back, he could do a lot worse.  But she was so much more than that.  She was talented, and smart, and practically one of his best friends now.

She was also married to Arin.

Arin… god, that was a whole other can of worms Dan didn’t even want to consider at the moment.  Arin was his savior in so many ways.  Dan may have sold his soul, but Arin was the one to show Dan how to keep his humanity within his sights, to remember the good in the world.  He gave Dan a life outside of collecting souls.  Arin made him happy.

Suzy did too.

Dan knew that telling Arin and Suzy who he was - who he _really_ was - would change his relationship with them, but he wasn’t expecting the curveball that Suzy threw at him only a few hours later.  Dan truly didn’t know what to expect or do.  Suzy kept saying when, not if, they were going to go through with this and Dan supposed that was fair because if the situation were reversed, if Arin and Suzy were the ones in trouble and Dan could save them, he’d do whatever it took.

But Dan felt distressed.  He didn’t want to drive a wedge between the married couple; he didn’t want to hurt his own relationship with them.  But he also wanted his soul back.  He didn’t want to go back to the Underworld.  And he didn’t want to put Arin through that metaphorical hell either.

The cliché, “You can’t have your cake and eat it too,” was becoming more and more apt in this situation.  Except it was more, “You can’t get your soul back and _not_ fuck up everything else around you.”

The car pulled up into the parking lot and the three of them walked into the office in silence.  Once inside they all went to their respective desks, Dan grabbing his laptop and plopping down on the couch, and got to work.  

It was quiet.  Only the three of them and Barry were there at the office so far, but Barry had barely noticed their entrance as he was too wrapped up in editing the next _How About This Game?_ video for the GrumpOut channel.  Things would probably get louder later, once everyone else had arrived.

An hour passed, the office submerged in unusual silence, and Dan had yet to get anything done.  His brain was still buzzing and the quiet was not helping him focus at all.  He had tried listening to music, but all that had done was give him a soundtrack to his inner ramblings.  His e-mails still sat unanswered as he drummed his fingers nervously against the keyboard.

The door to the office opened and Dan looked up to see Brian walk in.  He quipped a sensible “good morning,” to both Suzy and Arin before smiling at Dan, heading over toward the kitchen.

Dan needed to talk to Brian.  Arin may have been one of his best friends (maybe even more than that) in recent years, but Brian had known him longer, knew him better than anyone else in the office.

He closed his laptop and walked over to Brian, who was rummaging through the fridge.  When Brian stood up straight, he had a carton of half and half in one hand, a coffee mug in the other, and a confused expression on his face.  To be fair, Dan _was_ standing a little too close to him.  “What’s up?” asked Brian.

Dan took a step back.  “Ah, I was thinking…” What was he thinking?  He needed to talk to Brian, that was for sure, but there wasn’t really any place private except for the recording room… “Um, what do you have planned for today?”

Brian scrunched his nose in thought and shrugged.  “Answer some e-mails, work on some songs… other than that, not much.  Why do you ask?”

“Oh, I was thinking, maybe we could do something for GrumpCade, if the recording room isn’t taken?” Dan suggested, thinking quickly on his feet as Brian made himself a cup of coffee with the Keurig.  “I gotta ask Arin and make sure the recording schedule isn’t full,  but I just thought it’s been awhile since we did anything on the channel together.”

Brian nodded.  “Sounds good to me.  Just clear it with the bossman first.”

“Yeah, I will.  Cool.”  He stood there awkwardly for a moment longer before turning in his heel and heading over to Arin’s desk.  He tapped his fingers on the desk, getting his friend’s attention, and Arin took off his headphones and turned away from his computer to look at Dan.

Dan stood there for a minute, distracted by brown eyes, and Arin cleared his throat.  “Did you need something, Dan?”

 _God,_ could Dan be any more distracted and spacey?  He blinked hard.  “Yeah, Brian and I were thinking about using the recording room today.  Is anyone using it?”

Arin’s brow wrinkled and he leaned back in his chair until he could see Suzy at her desk.  “Hey Suz, what’s the recording schedule look like?”

She pulled out a planner and checked the date.  “Barry and Ross are supposed to film a Steam Train whenever Ross gets in, but they should be done around two or three, after lunch.  That work?”

Dan was not particularly fond of waiting any longer to talk, but he would take what he could get.  “Sure, that sounds great.  I’ll let Brian know.”

“Cool!” she said smiling, penciling Dan and Brian into the planner.  Dan gave a half-smile, quietly offered his thanks, and informed Brian of the plan before plopping back down on the couch.

The hours crawled by.  Dan managed to answer a few e-mails and scrawl a few lyrics, but they weren’t NSP worthy.  More somber, more introspective - not funny at all.  But hey, at least it was passing the time and getting his thoughts on paper.

About an hour and a half after lunch, finally, _finally_ Ross and Barry exited the recording room.  Ross left the door open and gestured to it, turning to Dan.  “It’s all yours.”

Dan smiled in thanks before getting Brian’s attention and heading into the room, bottle of water in hand.  He sat down on the couch, leg shaking anxiously, and waited for Brian to join him.  A few minutes later, Brian closed the door behind him and sat down next to Dan.  “So, what are we playing?”

Dan blinked twice.  To be honest, picking out a game had been the last thing on his mind, even though he had told Brian that he wanted to record something.  “Oh.  I, uh, didn’t pick anything out.  You can pick.”

“... Okay,” Brian said slowly, getting up again and leaving the room to pick something out from the wall of video games outside. When he came back, he retook his place on the couch and stared at Dan knowingly.  “So we’re gonna play this,” he held up an NES copy of _Paper Boy,_ “but first, you’re gonna tell me what’s going on.”

Dan gave a great sigh.  “You saw right through me, huh?”

Brian smirked.  “I’ve known you for the better part of six years now.  You’ve been fidgety and spacey all day and way too eager to record something with me.  I mean, I am pretty fucking awesome so I get why you might want to film with me so badly, but knowing you, I’m pretty sure that’s not it.”

“You know me too well,” Dan replied with a self-deprecating smile, shaking his head.

Brian leaned back on the couch, relaxing.  “Come on, man.  What’s up?”

Dan inhaled through his nose, closing his eyes, and exhaled through his mouth.  He looked at Brian.  “Why didn’t you tell me what you had to do to get your soul back?  Why did you keep that from me?”

Brian’s smile faded and he looked down to fold his hands in his lap.  “You know why,” he said softly.

“Do I?” asked Dan rhetorically.  “You could have thrown me a bone, or something.  It would have been nice to know instead of me getting bitchslapped with that knowledge this past weekend.”

Brian’s eyes brightened.  “You found an angel to help you?”

Dan rolled his.  “Yeah.  It’s Suzy.  You know, Arin’s _wife?_ ”

Brian made a silent “oh” with his mouth and slouched further back into the couch.  He took a moment to process before responding, “Holy shit, Dan.”

“Yeah, tell me about it.”  He downed the last dregs of water and placed the bottle on the floor.  

“What are you gonna do?”

“I don’t know if I have much of a choice in the matter.  They both want to go through with it.”

Brian cocked a brow.  “They?”

“Arin’s involved in this too,” Dan said with a shrug.  “I told him everything.  His soul is on the line as well as mine, and he sides with Suzy, who is… determined for this to happen.”

“Well, they have to take your wishes into account too,” Brian responded practically.  The shock of the news was clearly already wearing off.  “Can’t they simply help you find another angel?”

“There’s no time,” Dan replied, rubbing his face.  “The Underworld is already after me - they almost got me twice while I was at Suzy and Arin’s.  This is my only option.”

Brian exhaled harshly and ran his hands through his salt-and-pepper hair.  “How do you feel about it?”

This was where Dan hesitated.  Everything before this question was just fact, but this… this was murky.  His emotions were unclear, but one feeling made itself quite known.  “I feel guilty,” he admitted quietly.

Dan felt Brian shift next to him, and when he looked up his friend was looking at him with concerned eyes.  “Why?”

Dan popped his knuckles and shook out his hands.  “I feel guilty for doing this to them, putting them in this situation.  I’m asking so much from them and they’re so willing, but… I don’t want to destroy what we already have - or what _they_ have.  And,” he swallowed, “I hate myself for wanting more.”

Dan took a deep breath and looked at his hands.  Brian reached out and placed a hand gently on Dan’s wrist to get his attention.  Dan looked up and Brian’s eyes were just as understanding and kind as ever.  “Dan, what you’re feeling?  Totally normal.  The bond between demons and angels is strong; even more so with the angel who gets your soul back.  I mean, look at me and Rachel - I married the woman who gave me my life back.  If you feel a connection to Suzy, that’s expected.”

“That’s great and all, but I don’t think that explanation covers my feelings for Arin too,” Dan practically blurted out.  Brian’s eyes widened again and Dan sighed.  “He’s always meant so much to me,” he continued, looking at the floor, “I worked so hard to track him down after he moved out here, to make sure he was doing well, and then practically inserted myself into his life.  And this whole time, he’s been kind and generous to a fault.  Even when I told him what I had done to him all those years ago, after his initial outburst he let it go almost immediately.  And now, faced with everything we have to do, he still wants to help me.”  Dan pulled his legs up to his chest and wrapped his arms around his knees.  “I don’t deserve their kindness.  I’m gonna fuck everything up.”

A tense silence filled the room and Dan rested his forehead on his knees.  He felt better for getting everything off his mind, but waiting for his closest friend’s judgement stretched each second twice as long.  After a few minutes, Brian finally spoke, slowly and with intent.  “Loving them doesn’t make you a bad person.”

Dan looked up to Brian, worried brown eyes matching calm blue ones, and Brian kept speaking.  “You have a bigger heart than anyone else I know, and you’re a _demon_.  Your optimism is what dragged me out of the Underworld when I was there, and if it weren’t for you then I wouldn’t have found Rachel.  You saved me.  You deserve to save yourself.”  Brian took a deep breath.  “You aren’t a horrible person for loving the two people who have given you the chance at a new life.”

“I didn’t say anything about love,” protested Dan.

“You didn’t have to.  I can read it all over your face.”

Dan uncurled himself and crossed his arms.  “Okay, look, even if that is what it is, I don’t think I’m ready for that.”

“Yeah, that’s understandable.  It’s still early.  But you’ve known them both for years.  All three of you have become really close.  If I’m completely frank with you, I’m not terribly surprised you feel this way.”  Brian shrugged.  “Like I said before - you’ve got a big heart, and you share it with a lot of people.”

“But I still don’t know what I’m gonna do.”

“I’ll tell you what you’re gonna do - you’re gonna go along with this, because you _can’t_ go back to the Underworld.  And after it’s over, then you can worry about those feelings, what they mean, and if you want I’ll be here for you then too.”  He placed a hand on Dan’s shoulder, his expression deadly serious.  “But you cannot throw away this chance.  I don’t think any of us can afford to lose you.”

Dan nodded, trying to calm his mind.  He still didn’t have answers, didn’t know how to handle everything, but talking it out with Brian, letting him in on the craziness going on and him telling Dan that all this seemed pretty normal, that managed to ease his mind some.  He smiled.  “Thanks man.”

Brian offered a small smile in return.  “Anytime.”  He sat back.  “And, uh, sorry for not letting you in on the details of the ritual.”  

“No, dude, that’s okay.  I was just trying to ease the tension earlier.  It’s fine.”

Brian nodded.  “I just… I have to keep my family safe.  Rachel and I, we’re okay.  The ritual provides some lingering protection, so the Underworld can’t hurt us.”  Brian’s face twisted painfully, and he looked guiltily at his hands.  “But I worry about Audrey.  She doesn’t have the same shield.  She’s only a baby, so I don’t have to worry about a demon making a deal with her anytime soon, but I want to keep her safe as long as I can.”

Dan placed a hand on Brian’s shoulder, getting his attention.  “That’s completely understandable, Brian.  I’m not upset.”

“Honestly, I’m probably being overprotective. I don’t think they’re going to come after her while she’s under our roof.  But if we lay low, maybe they won’t know where we are, or just not care by the time she’s old enough to understand.”  He sighed.   “That's why I couldn't tell you.  I couldn’t take the risk of telling another demon how to get out of the contract and it eventually getting back to someone who could hurt her.”

Dan smiled.  “You’re being a good dad, dude.  I wouldn’t expect anything less from you.”

“Thanks.”  A beat of silence.  “You know you’re gonna be okay, right?”

Dan paused.  “Not really.  But I know I’ll get there.”

“That’s good enough, then.”  Brian stood.  “Now, let’s play _Paper Boy_ so I can beat your ass and feel ultimately superior.”

Dan laughed and with a roll of his eyes replied, “Pretty sure you already are.”


	8. The Stalkers

Through the days passing, Dan started to relax.  His conversation with Brian had put a lot of his own worries at ease.  Things weren’t perfect, no.  But he could certainly be a hell of a lot worse.

Suzy, Arin, and Brian were all keeping an eye on him, although all for different reasons.  Suzy and Arin to make sure nothing was coming after him, and Brian in case he noticed Dan start to have a nervous breakdown about everything.  All in all, though, Dan felt better.  He felt normal.

Well, almost normal.  Barry was being surprisingly distant; that probably had something to do with Dan not being home for five nights straight.  But Dan couldn’t bring himself to be too concerned about that at the moment.  Not because he didn’t care, but because he was finally starting to  _ not  _ worry about things.  He’d deal with Barry once he was actually home again.

Wednesday afternoon found Dan on the couch with Brian, bouncing song ideas off of each other and jotting down the good ones.  They’d had plenty of good ideas, but it would really come down to which ones were actually feasible, versus the ones that sounded good but were more difficult (or sometimes downright impossible) to conceptualize past the idea.

Dan was laughing about Brian’s suggestion of a song about morning wood and wet dreams when Suzy came over and asked Dan if it would be okay if they left for the day in about ten minutes.  Dan nodded, still laughing, but managed to squeak out that was fine, he’d be ready to go by then.

He finished up with Brian and started packing up his things.  Everything had felt closer to normal today, and for that, he was thankful.

If only it could stay that way.

As the trio left the building, Dan felt his phone vibrate and he pulled it out of his back pocket to see another song idea from Brian.  He stopped walking, giggling to himself, and shot a quick reply back.  When he pocketed his phone again, still chuckling, he looked up and saw Suzy and Arin at the car, having kept walking without him.  He took a couple steps toward them, but a figure in the corner of his eye caught his attention and he turned his head to look to his right.

His heart skipped a beat.

A man in a suit - a black suit - with black sunglasses and slicked back hair, loitered at the edge of the parking lot, staring directly at Dan.  Arms crossed, feet planted slightly apart, he looked like a sinister Secret Service agent.  But no.  That wasn’t right.  

This was a demon.  Dan could feel it in his bones.

His legs came to a halt as he stared directly at the demon.  His heart sped up and as much as he wanted to move forward, he couldn’t.  He was afraid to turn his back, afraid to blink, afraid to breathe.  But the demon didn’t move.  Just stood there, like a statue, watching, waiting, for only god knew what.

Dan’s mind screamed for him to move, run, do  _ anything  _ but stand there like a sitting duck, but then there was a hand on his forearm, a petite arm around his waist.  For a second he thought this was another one waiting to pounce, and this was it, he was being dragged back down, but he whipped his head around and saw Suzy - sweet, protective, wonderful Suzy - standing beside him.  She looked up at him with worried eyes, telling him, “You’re okay, Dan.  I’m right here.”

Dan willed himself to breathe deeply and nodded.  He watched her eyes go white as she turned her gaze to the demon and glared, and for the first time since Dan saw him, the demon bristled and fidgeted, but did not move from his spot.  Suzy led Dan to the car with her gentle hands guiding him.  Once they were there she sat him in the front seat, where he managed to buckle his seatbelt with shaky hands.  She got in the back seat directly behind Dan and rested her hand reassuringly on his shoulder.

Dan looked at Arin, who was staring daggers into the demon still standing in the lot.  “Can’t I just, like, fucking run him over, Suz?”

Suzy smiled like she was holding back a laugh.  “I mean, you can, but it’s not gonna kill him or anything.  Might be a little bit painful for him, but it’s certainly not worth ruining our car for.”

Arin grumbled, “That’s a shame,” before putting the car in reverse and driving out of the lot.   The first five minutes of the drive were silent, but the further they drove away from the office, the better Dan felt.  “Jesus,”  he sighed, resting his head back against the headrest, “those guys are the worst.”

“Tell me about it,” Arin chuckled.  “Those were the douchebags that showed up on our doorstep last Saturday. When they tried to take you that first time.”

“Good to know they’re still on my ass,” Dan deadpanned as he closed his eyes.

“Don’t worry about it,” Suzy encouraged him with softly spoken words.  “They can’t do anything if I’m with you.  They’re just trying to scare you.”

“Yeah, well, it’s working.  I wish it weren’t but it is.”

“Dan,” Arin started, and Dan turned to look at Arin, who was concentrating on the road, “if I were in your shoes, I think I would have shit myself at least three times by now.  I think being scared, being anxious… it’s okay.  Just try not to let it consume you.”  At this point, Arin chanced a glance at Dan and offered a warm smile.  “You’ve got us.”

Dan felt heat rise in his cheeks, and he looked down at his lap.  “Thanks, guys.  If you keep saving my ass like this, I don’t know how I’m gonna make it up to you.”

Arin shrugged.  “A sick beej would probably do it for me.”

When their laughter had died down, Suzy took her hand off of Dan’s shoulder and leaned in between the seats.  “Soooo what was it that Brian said that had you in stitched earlier this afternoon?”

Dan was grateful for the change of subject and launched into all of their ideas with Suzy and Arin.  Some of the ideas really got to them as they had with Dan, others only received a lukewarm response.  Dan pulled out the notebook he had written the ideas in and started taking notes, which ones Suzy and Arin liked and crossing through the ones they didn’t.  It was nice to have a sounding board outside of himself and Brian, and he took their reactions to heart.

They soon pulled into the driveway of the Berhow-Hanson household and piled out of the car to head inside.  Arin and Dan were still talking about song ideas until they got to the porch of the house and realized that Suzy had not followed.  They both turned to see Suzy standing next to the car with her hand still on the door handle.  She stood rigidly, her gaze fixed on something across the street, and when Dan followed her gaze he saw another black-suited cronie, identical to the one seen at the office, arms crossed and staring directly at Dan.

Dan swallowed the lump forming in his throat, Arin’s hand curling around Dan’s bicep as his friend literally pulled him back to reality.  “Come on, man,” Arin said, “let’s just get inside.”  Arin turned to look back at Suzy, who was now starting to glow white.  “You too, Suzy.  Leave him.”

Suzy’s glow started to dim as she slowly turned from the demon and walked up the steps to the porch, scowl firmly in place.  She entered the house, then Dan, then Arin, the last one deadbolting the door shut behind them.

They stood in the foyer, awkwardly quiet.  Dan felt small and scared, his shoulders slumped in defeat and worry.

“I  _ swear,  _ Dan,” Suzy ground out, “I will keep you safe.”

His eyes rose to hers, still pure white even though she was not glowing anymore, her whole body shaking with rage.  “If they come into this house again, I will make them wish they never made a deal with you in the first place.”

Arin stepped toward Suzy and Dan and wrapped his arms around the both of them in a loving embrace, seemingly at a loss for words. Suzy’s head pillowed in Arin’s chest while Dan rested his head on Arin’s shoulder, both of them gratefully returning the gesture.

Arin and Suzy’s house had always felt like a second home to Dan.

Now, it felt like a prison.

-~*~-

Gray and black.  Everything was gray and black.

Dan was so hot.  He didn’t sweat normally but  _ fuck,  _ he was wishing he could now.  His hands shook, his heart raced.  Where the hell was he?  He didn’t recognize his surroundings, but somehow it all seemed uncomfortably familiar.

Cold dread blindly crept up his spine, and the juxtaposition of the heat and ice in his body caused him to shiver.  He turned to look over his shoulder and trembled at what he saw.

A tall spectral creature, dark holes where eyes should be and mouth agape in a constant silent scream, hovered toward Dan, arms reaching out toward him the closer it got.  Dan stumbled backwards, staring in horror at the monster moving toward him, before turning and running as fast as his legs would carry him away from the sight.

His mind did not register where his legs were taking him; his only priority was putting as much distance between him and the thing as possible.  So when he ran straight into a seemingly invisible wall, it took a few moments for him to scramble to his feet and find a new way out.  He followed the wall, not daring to look behind him.

His lungs were about to burst, his heart beat out of his chest.  His adrenaline could only take him so far.  His run slowed into a jog, then a walk, then a trudge, and when he stumbled on an unforeseen obstacle his body lunged forward, sprawling onto his back on the ground.  Pain surged through his body and he closed his eyes, gritted his teeth to bear it.  When he opened his eyes again, the being loomed so much closer than before, and wheezing, Dan struggled to crawl backwards.  His back soon hit another wall, and with nowhere to go terror screamed through his veins.

The creature floated above Dan and he couldn’t take his eyes off it.  He laid down flat on his back, silently begging the ground to absorb him whole, anything to take him away from the fear he felt, the bile rising in the back of his throat, the cold that slowly took over his entire body.

The being stayed like that for a couple of minutes, watching Dan, eerily floating.  Then suddenly it reached out, grabbing Dan firmly by the shoulders.  Searing pain radiated from where it touched him, branding his skin as he opened his mouth to scream, but nothing came out.  Tears stung his eyes as he struggled and a sinister voice whispered softly,  _ You can’t escape us. _

Dan looked around trying to find a way out, but all he could see were red eyes watching him, relishing in his agony.  The creature’s mouth did not move, but the whispering continued.   _ We will find you.  We will take you back.  You belong to us. _

The creature’s hands did not move, but Dan felt something wrapping around his neck, constricting gradually and making him fight for breath.  Screeching laughter served as the backing track for the evil whispers, as yellow fangs glinted in the dark.

_ You belong to us. _

But beneath the whispering, there was another voice.  Muddled, like Dan was listening through water, but still there.  He focused on the faraway voice, ignoring the one in his ear.

“Dan…”

_ You belong to us. _

“Dan, wa…”

_ You belong to us. _

“DAN, WAKE UP!!”

Dan woke with a gasp, his eyes shooting open and blearily taking in his surroundings.  It was dark.   He was in a bed.  He had been asleep.  

Everything had just been a dream.

Arin was sitting up and his hands were on Dan’s shoulders, where the being’s hands had been only moments before.  Dan looked at Arin, concern evident in his features, then looked to Suzy, also sitting upright with her hand covering her mouth in worry.  Dan took a deep breath and tried to speak, but all that came out was a broken sob.  The heels of his hands flew up and pressed into his eyes as he tried to compose himself.

Suzy reached up and held Dan’s hand.  “Nightmare?”

Dan nodded, letting his hand be held by Suzy but throwing his other arm over his eyes.  Arin let go of Dan’s shoulders, placing a hand firmly on Dan’s chest to keep some kind of physical contact with him.  “Sleep paralysis?” asked Arin.

Another nod from Dan.  

Suzy held the back of his hand up to her cheek and squeezed his fingers.  “Breathe in through your nose, out through your mouth.  You’re safe.  You’re okay.”

Dan did as he was told, breathing slowly, and his heart rate started to slow down.  He pulled his arm off of his eyes and felt tear tracks from the corner of his eye to the pillow under his head, and his body tried to relax.

Arin cleared his throat, still looking carefully at Dan.  “You don’t have to, but if you wanna talk about it, we’re here to listen.”

Dan didn’t immediately respond, but he knew airing it out would probably be better than letting it fester.  “There was… something terrifying.  It was chasing me.  And I tried to run but I couldn’t get away.”  He swallowed.  “It hurt me.”  He quelled a sob threatening to escape his lips.  “I kept hearing something say, ‘you belong to us,’ over and over again, before Arin woke me up.”

Suzy and Arin shared a look before Arin turned his attention back to Dan.  “You’re going to be okay,” he said, brushing back Dan’s hair.  “They’re not gonna get you.”

“He’s right,” Suzy said firmly.  “It’ll be a cold day in hell before we let them take you back.”

Dan knew they were right - how many times had they said it before? -  but he couldn’t get himself to say it out loud, so he simply nodded again.  Suzy looked back to Arin.  “Maybe you could get some tea for him, Arin?  Please?”  She turned back to Dan.  “Does that sound good?”

“Uhh, yeah,” Dan replied.  “Some chamomile, maybe, if you have any?”

Arin smiled softly.  “Of course, man.  Anything you need.”  He got up from the bed and left the room, heading toward the kitchen, but the minute he got up Dan immediately missed him.  It felt like his entire right side was defenseless and paralyzing fear crept back into him.  A horrible image of the creature crawling up from under Arin’s side of the bed and dragging him under infiltrated his mind and he began to shake, unable to tear his eyes away from the edge of the bed.

Suzy took notice.  “Dan, sit up, babe.”  He looked at her as she supported his arms and he lifted himself into a slight sitting position.  “Come here,” she said, and she wrapped her arms around his shoulders and drew him into her.

Dan’s head was pillowed against her chest, just above her breasts, and everything around him was  _ her _ .  Her heart beat in his ear.  Her scent filled his nostrils.  He felt her lips on the top of his head, and her hair fell around his face, a black curtain protecting him from the dangers lurking.  His heartbeat slowed to match the pace of hers and calm fell over him as a blanket.  He wrapped his arms around her waist, finally coming back to reality.

He stayed like that, encompassed in everything she was, everything she was willing to give.  He didn’t see Arin come in, stopping and standing stock still when he saw his wife and his best friend wrapped in the intimate embrace.  He didn’t see Suzy lock eyes with Arin, silently begging him to understand.  He didn’t see the sad expression that crossed Arin’s features before he took a deep breath and wiped it from his face.

He only felt Arin sit back on the bed next to him, Arin’s hand on his lower back, rubbing softly.  “Hey, Dan, I’ve got your tea, if you still want it?”

Dan took one last deep breath still in Suzy’s arms before pulling away and looking back to Arin.  “Thank you,” he said as he took the mug from Arin, his hands barely shaking.  He took a sip and leaned back until he was resting against the headboard.  “I’m sorry for waking you both.”

Arin rolled his eyes.  “Dan, stop.  You have nothing to be sorry for.”

Dan smiled weakly.  “Uh, pretty sure I have plenty to be sorry about.  I woke you both up, I invaded your house, I’m sleeping in your damn bed-”

“Oh my  _ god,  _ just shut the fuck up,” Suzy cut him off, a gentle smile on her lips but her tone serious.  “We invited you into all of this.  Except for the waking us up part.  But it’s not like you decided to have a nightmare anyway.”

“Yeah,” Arin joined in, “we care about you.  We want you to be happy.  We want you to be around.  How many times do we have to say it?”

Dan looked between the two of them and his heart stirred in adoration for them both.  He quickly tempered it down, eyes averting to the swirling leftover tea leaves in his mug.  He took a few more gulps, licking his lips.  “Thanks.”

Arin smiled and rested a hand on Dan’s leg.  It was all the reassurance Dan needed.

They sat in a peaceful quiet for a while until Dan finished his tea.  He handed the cup to Arin, who put it on his bedside table.  Dan’s eyelids drooped.  “Is it weird that I’m exhausted but also slightly too terrified to sleep?”

“Not weird at all,” Suzy replied, pulling up the covers and settling them over her and Dan’s lap.  Arin followed, though only opting for the sheet, and soon they were all laying down once again.

Although he knew he couldn’t stay on his back forever lest he fall prey to another attack of sleep paralysis, Dan didn’t want to turn his back to any part of the room.  He could see everything this way, and even though he knew the danger he still felt was only in his mind, he couldn’t shake it.

Arin became aware Dan’s taut form and leaned up on his elbows to look at Dan.  “Dude, you can’t sleep on your back.  You’ll have another attack.”

“I know, I just…” Dan trailed off, looking past Arin’s eyes at the ceiling.  He felt so ridiculous.  He was a goddamn adult, for Christ’s sake, and he was acting like a child.   _ Get it together, Avidan. _

Arin’s eyebrows arched, and then a gentle smile formed on his lips.  “Roll over.  Towards Suzy.”

“Arin, I will, just let me-”

“Trust me, okay?”

Dan looked back to Arin, who put a hand on Dan’s hip to slowly roll him over toward Suzy.  Dan gave a great sigh and did as Arin asked.  The minute his back was turned he felt vulnerable, but not for long because almost immediately Arin was right next to him, the front of his body flush with Dan’s back, Arin’s right arm wrapped around Dan’s waist and pulling him close. 

Dan stifled a gasp of surprise.  This was unexpected, but he certainly wasn’t going to complain.  “So… spooning, huh?” He started with a smart-ass tone, trying to cover his nerves, “Pretty sure  _ this  _ is the gayest thing we’ve ever done.”

Dan felt Arin go stiff.  “Is… is this too weird?  I mean, I remember that you said Barry used to hold you after your night terrors, and you look tired and I want you to sleep well…”

_ Shit,  _ Dan thought.  He didn’t mean to make Arin feel bad - he was just trying to break the tension.

“We don’t have to,” Arin kept rambling, as he started to remove his arm from Dan’s waist, “I thought-”

“No!” Dan exclaimed, grabbing Arin’s arm and keeping it around him.  “No, this is… this is good.”  He felt safe in Arin’s arms.  Warm and safe.  He didn’t want that to end anytime soon.  “I was just being an asshole.  Sorry."

Arin relaxed and Dan breathed a sigh of relief.  “It’s fine,” Arin replied through a yawn.  He nuzzled his face in the back of Dan’s neck, and Dan reveled in the feeling.

He looked at Suzy who had turned to face them, and noticed her sweet smile, the twinkle in her eye.  He cocked a brow.  “What?”

She giggled lightly.  “Nothing.”  She reached over and caressed Dan’s cheek.  He leaned into her touch.  She scooted closer to him.  “You’re gonna be okay,” she said reassuringly, reminding him of what he already knew.  When he only nodded in response, she shook her head.  “Say it.  I want to hear you say it.”

Dan placed his hand over Suzy’s, his thumb rubbing against the back of her hand.  “I’m gonna be okay,” he said, barely above a whisper.

The smile she gave him was nothing short of stunning.  “Good boy.”  And before he could process it, she pressed her lips to his.

At first he froze, not knowing what to do, but when she moved her lips against his to deepen the kiss to something a little past intimate, he relaxed and moved with her.  Her lips were so soft and warm and she was so goddamn  _ beautiful.   _ How the hell was he supposed to just push her away?  His hand found her waist, thumb rubbing softly where her shirt had ridden up and she sighed against his lips…

Arin’s tightening arm around Dan’s waist brought him back to his senses and he pulled away, looking apologetic as guilt flooded his senses.  Suzy was  _ married.  _ To  _ Arin.   _ Had he forgotten so quickly already?

“Stop,” she whispered, and Dan chanced a glance at her, her face soft but resolute.  “Don’t do that to yourself.”  It was as if she could read his mind.

He let his head drop to the pillow and closed his eyes, feeling Suzy fingers lace with his own.  He laid like that for some time, feeling Arin’s gentle, comforting snores against his back and hearing Suzy’s steady breathing as her fingers stayed locked in his.  It was not much longer before his felt himself begin to doze as well, but not without one crystal clear thought burdening his mind.

Dan needed to be careful around Suzy and Arin.  Not just for his own sake, but theirs too.

Maybe he wasn’t the only one with complicated feelings here.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I listened to a looot of Slow Dancing Society during the fluff parts of this fic. They make some great focus music!
> 
> This was probably my favorite chapter to write so far. I fucking love writing comfort and fluff. :)


	9. The Possibility

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Good lord, I'm sorry this took so long. Life gets in the way sometimes!

Arin could feel the sunlight shining from behind his eyelids as he was roused from his slumber, but he refused to open his eyes.  Maybe if he kept his eyes closed he’d be able to go back to sleep.  He didn’t want to get out of bed; he was so  _ comfortable.   _ The bed was soft and warm and with Suzy curled right up next to him, he turned on his side toward her and wrapped an arm around her shoulders - and quickly realized that it wasn’t Suzy at all, unless her shoulders got a hell of a lot broader overnight.

In fact, he didn’t even sleep next to Suzy last night, if he recalled correctly - hadn’t slept next to her for a while now.  He’d been sleeping next to-

Arin’s eyes opened, and yep, there was Dan facing him, curled into Arin, breathing steadily, still asleep.  He looked so peaceful, which Arin was thankful for once he remembered the ordeal in the middle of the night before.  It seemed like Dan had gotten some decent sleep next to Arin.

Arin could only hope.  For more than one reason.

He noticed belatedly that Suzy wasn’t in the bed, and for a good ten seconds he panicked, thinking that the demons might come to take Dan away if she wasn’t by his side.  But then he remembered what she said, that they couldn’t hurt him and Dan was just as safe with him as with her.  He took a deep breath and let his arm fall to hold Dan’s waist, scooting himself closer so that they were barely touching.

He would never admit it for fear of coming off like a selfish jerk, but there was a part of him that was grateful for all the grief this mess was causing them.  He didn’t like that Dan had assholes after him, didn’t like that Dan was growing more and more paranoid, didn’t like seeing his wife have to be so protective and vigilant all the time.  But all of this brought the three of them closer together.  Arin had never been  _ this _ close to Dan, emotionally or physically.  The kind of intimacy between them now was something Arin had only ever dreamed of; now it was looking more like reality every day.

But there was one part, one small voice in his mind that told him this was not going to last.  That the minute Dan got his soul back, he’d run back to being just friends, forget everything that had happened between them.  He wouldn’t blame Dan either - with newfound freedom to be human again, he’d surely want a chance to use it.

Arin just didn’t want it to end.

Dan took a deep breath through his nose and stirred, and for lack of anything else better to do (and because he didn’t want to come off as a creep watching Dan sleep), Arin closed his eyes and leaned in until his forehead gently rested against Dan’s.  He heard Dan’s breathing become shallower, then a surprised gasp, and Arin fluttered his eyes open, pretending to only have just woken up.

He focused on Dan’s face, a pink flush on his cheeks, and Arin offered what he hoped was a sleepy grin.  “G’morning.”

Dan smiled warmly, albeit a bit hesitant.  “Morning,” he offered quietly in return.  His eyes drifted to where Arin’s arm was around his waist.

Arin reluctantly moved his arm.  “Sorry.  Not sure when that happened.”

Dan settled into his pillow, stretching his body and giving a breathy sigh.  “Don’t be sorry.  It’s fine.  I think it helped me sleep.  You, uh, made me feel safe last night, after…”

He trailed off, the blush now burning to a bright red, and buried his face in the pillow with a groan.  Arin had to suppress a chuckle.  He was too cute.  “Why are you embarrassed?  There’s nothing wrong with needing a big strong man to keep you safe.”

Arin could hear Dan mumble “oh my  _ god,”  _ into the pillow, before Dan lifted his head enough to grab the pillow from under his head and smack Arin in the head with it.  “Hey!” Arin exclaimed, trying to sound serious but not able to stop the laughter that bubbled up.  “That’s no way to treat your knight in shining armor!”

Another groan from Dan, and he turned his head to look at Arin, wild hair obscuring his face.  “I’m gonna choke you if you keep this up,” threatened Dan, but the smile on his face proved there was no venom in it.

Arin waggled his eyebrows.  “Be careful, I might like that.”

“ _ Arin!” _

Arin chuckled, but it quickly died off when he saw Dan cover his flushed face with his hands, apparently terribly embarrassed.  This banter always came so easy to them, but usually it was while they were sitting on a couch, not  _ lying in bed  _ together.  “Did I go too far?” Arin asked, his voice quiet, tone apologetic.

Dan peeked out through his fingers and took a deep breath.  “No,” he said slowly, pulling his hands away from his face to push his hair back.  “I think I’m still just… mortified from last night.”

“Hey,” Arin placed a comforting hand on Dan’s back, “don’t be.  With everything that’s happened in the last week, you can’t blame your subconscious for going haywire.  Everyone gets nightmares.”

Dan’s eyes widened.  “God, it’s only been a week, hasn’t it?  Jesus.”

“A lot’s changed.”

A hollow chuckle from Dan.  “Yeah.  Like  _ everything.” _

“Maybe it’s all for the better.  In fact, there’s no maybe to it - I know it is.”

“Yeah, sure,” Dan said sarcastically, rolling his eyes, “me taking your soul, burdening you with invading your home, sleeping in your bed and eventually with your wife is definitely all for the better.”

“So you can stay safe, so you can have your soul back.”  Why wasn’t Dan getting this through his head?  They had reassured him so many times… “We need you, Dan.”  Arin swallowed thickly.  “I don’t wanna imagine my life without you.”

Dan stared at him, either in awe or concern, and Arin felt himself shrinking under his gaze.  Had he said too much?  God, he was really fucking this up, wasn’t he?  Arin’s eyes trained on the ceiling, unable to look at Dan any longer.  The older man flipped over onto his back and sat up, his own gaze stuck on his hands fidgeting in his lap.

“I can’t--,” Dan started, but he faltered, “I don’t know what I did to deserve this.  To have you and Suzy in my life, the lengths you’re willing to go to help me.”  Arin sat up now but rested against the headboard to stare at the back of Dan’s head as he talked.  “I feel like… there’s nothing I can do to make it up to you, after everything I’ve done, and it’s  _ killing  _ me.  I’ve been such an ass, so selfish, and it’s costing you guys so much--”

_ “Dan,”  _ Arin stopped his friend’s rambling, scooting forward until he was beside him.  Dan was still looking at his lap, now silent, brow furrowed in worry.  Arin was starting to piece things together, starting to understand why Dan was still harping on this and what he needed to hear.  “Dan,” he said his name softly, with fondness, as he placed a hand over Dan’s nervous ones.  “I forgive you.  For everything.”

Dan finally looked at Arin, and this time there was awe in Dan’s eyes, but Arin couldn’t comprehend why it was there.  He’d do anything for Dan, just as he would for Suzy.  He  _ had _ to know that.

Dan smiled, a little sad, and nodded.  “Thank you,” he started, “but I don’t know if I can forgive myself yet.”

“That’s okay,” reassured Arin, “but don’t beat yourself over the head too badly.  I-- _ we  _ love you, and we’ll do whatever it takes to make this okay.”

“You shouldn’t have-”

“Stop arguing,” Arin laughed.  He wrapped an arm around Dan’s shoulders.  “Everything is gonna work out fine.”

Dan sighed and collapsed into Arin, resting his head on his shoulder.  Arin wrapped his other arm around him and relished in the embrace.  “Thank you,” Dan simply replied.

“Dude, it’s cool.  I mean, I would hope if the positions were reversed you’d do the same for me.”

“I would,” Dan nodded, “but I don’t have a wife so the situation doesn’t exactly apply.”

“Well, then if you were an angel and I was the demon, I’d hope you’d sleep with me to save my life.”

_ Good fucking job, Arin,  _ he cringed internally.   _ Could you be any more obvious or awkward? _

However, to his surprise, Dan chuckled.  “I mean, I’d fuck you for a whole lot less, so.”

Arin’s heart stopped.  He… what?  Surely that was a joke.

But Dan’s tense form and stifling silence said otherwise.  This was a slip of the tongue, a thought not meant to be said out loud.  Arin opened and closed his mouth.  “Dan-”

Dan giggled nervously and sat up, being careful to not make any bodily contact with Arin.  “I kinda made that awkward, didn’t I?  Sorry, it was supposed to be a joke.”

Arin’s heart plummeted.  A joke.  That’s all it ever was.  He forced a smile.  “Naw man, I figured.  No big deal.”

They sat in awkward quiet for a few moments before Dan looked to the other side of the bed.  “Where’s Suzy?”

Arin shrugged.  “Dunno.  We should go find her.”

Dan nodded, and much to Arin’s displeasure they were soon getting out of the bed and heading downstairs.  When they reached the landing, Dan sniffed the air.  “Something smells good.”

“That means there’s only one place to check,” Arin grinned and led the way into the kitchen, where Suzy was standing over the stove.  

He wrapped his arms around her waist from behind and kissed her cheek, eliciting a giggle from her.  “Oh good, you two are awake,” she said, turning her head to look at her husband, then to Dan.  “I’m making pancakes.  Sound good?”

“Hell yeah,” Dan replied.  He smiled lopsidedly.  “I guess next time it’ll be my turn to cook breakfast for you two, considering you both have for me in the last week.”

“I like cinnamon rolls,” Suzy hinted.

Dan giggled.  “Duly noted.”

She turned to kiss Arin on the cheek, just as he had done to her moments before.  “You two sit.  I’m cooking the last batch - the rest of them are still warming in the oven.  You can pull them out and start eating while I finish these.”

“No, we’ll wait,” Arin insisted.  “You did all the work, it’d be bad manners to start without you.”

She smiled and shook her head.  “Then why don’t you start some coffee?  That was the one thing I forgot to do.”

“I’ll do it,” Dan offered, and before Arin could even remove his arms from his wife’s waist, Dan was already filling the machine with water.

“Then I’ll just stay here.”  Arin buried his face into Suzy’s neck.  God, he loved her so much.  She was so familiar, so comforting; everything with Dan felt like navigating treacherous waters while wrapping himself in her felt like coming home.  “Sitting down seems overrated.”

She flipped the last two pancakes and the griddle sizzled.  “You’re quite clingy,” she said quietly, outside of Dan’s earshot and nothing but love dripping from her tone.  “Is everything okay?”

Arin sighed and grunted.  “I’ll tell you later.  But everything’s fine.”

“Mkay, baby.”  She turned in his grasp to properly kiss him on the lips.  When she pulled back, he could feel himself smiling dopily.  “Grab the syrup, jams, whatever toppings you want.  And Dan,” she spoke louder to get his attention as he turned on the coffee machine, “would you please set the table?  I think we’re just about ready to eat.”

Less than five minutes later they were all sitting at the table, pancakes doled out and everyone chowing down.  “These are great Suz,” Arin said, trying not to talk around a mouthful of food.

Dan swallowed the bite he’d been chewing.  “Yeah, thanks for making breakfast.”

Suzy smiled at them.  “You’re welcome.  I’m glad they’re good!”  She took a bite of her short stack, swallowed, and set her fork down.  “So I was thinking,” she began, and both men turned to look at her, “is it okay if we just stay here today?  I’ve got some videos I need to film for my Mort3mer channel that I could use your help on.  Do you two need to go into the office?”

Arin wracked his brain.  “I don’t think we have anything pressing.  We’re ahead of the recording schedule, so I don’t see why we would have to go in.”  He nodded to Dan.  “Unless you have something we need to go in for.”

Dan shook his head.  “Nah, nothing big.  If Brian and I need to work on stuff we can do it over Skype.”

“Great!” Suzy clapped her hands together and smiled.  “I know it’s kind of an inconvenience, but I really appreciate it.”

“Not an inconvenience if we don’t need to go in,” Dan pointed out.

“Fair enough,” she shrugged, and took another bite of her breakfast.

-~*~-

Arin had assumed that their day would be pretty low key, since they were staying home and all, but it turned out to be quite the opposite.  Suzy kept them busy; Arin filmed a video where Dan appeared as a special guest and helped Suzy make a flower crown (they had gotten some great pics for the Game Grumps Instagram), he shot a Q&A video with her (the theme of the video was married life), and she filmed at least three other videos that they helped with more behind-the-scenes things.

It was 3:00 PM now.  They had just finished a late lunch and now they were on the couch, Arin sitting in the corner of the L-shaped sectional sofa with Suzy on his right and Dan on his left, watching  _ Mythbusters  _ reruns.

Well, Suzy and Arin were watching.  Dan had grabbed a throw pillow and rested it against Arin’s leg, sprawling out on the sofa, mentioning something about resting his eyes for a minute.  His breathing was now slow and deep, his eyes closed in a gentle slumber.

Suzy peered over her husband to look at Dan as he snuffled and shifted, but didn’t wake up.  Arin looked down at Dan fondly, resting his hand gently on Dan’s head.  “It’s probably good that he’s getting some peaceful sleep now, considering last night,” said Suzy.

“Yeah,” Arin agreed, not taking his eyes off of Dan’s slack features.  

It was quiet for a few minutes as Arin ran his fingers through some of Dan’s looser curls, lost in his own thoughts, but then Suzy spoke with a gentle tone.  “Arin.”  He turned to look at her reluctantly and she held his gaze.  “Tell me what you’re thinking.”

Arin took a few deep breaths.  “I don’t know,” he mumbled.  “I think I’m falling for him even more.”

Suzy nodded.  “That would make sense.  We are all in close quarters.”

“I think… he might be falling for me too.  But I’m not sure.”

Now Suzy cocked her head to the side, her forehead creasing in thought.  “Why do you say that?”

He turned his attention back to Dan’s sleeping form.  “This morning we were having a conversation… he’s still beating himself up over all this, you know?  And I told him that I forgave him, and that if the positions were reversed I’d hope he do the same.  And… well, long story short, he said he’d sleep with me for a lot less than having to save my own life, like you're going to have to with him.”

Arin looked to Suzy again, and he hated that he saw the tiniest bit of pity in her eyes.  “Babe, I’m not trying to burst your bubble or anything, but what makes this different from any other time you two have joked about it?”

A great sigh left Arin’s lips.  “You weren’t there, Suz.  We weren’t joking around - he was in my arms, leaning into me, and the way he said it…” He shook his head.  “It wasn’t a joke.  He tried to play it off as one, but I can tell when he’s just playing along.  And he wasn’t, until he realized what he said.”

Suzy bit her bottom lip, clearly deep in thought, and now it was Arin’s turn to inquire what was going through her mind.  “What’s up?”

She took a deep breath through her nose and exhaled through her lips.  “Okay.  So, I’ve been thinking, and we have to talk to Dan about this, but,” she paused, “I think we should do the ritual this weekend.” 

As hard as he tried not to let it show, Arin felt his face fall as Suzy barrelled on.  “It’s getting harder to protect him, and I don’t know how far the Underworld is going to go to get him back.  They may gather reinforcements and try to take me on to do so.  It doesn't happen often, but if we wait too long it might.  Plus, if we keep this up much longer we’re going to have to come up with some kind of story to tell everyone at the office; I’m pretty sure Barry is already pretty suspicious, considering Dan hasn’t been home for five nights.”

Arin nodded.  Suzy had more than plenty of good reasons, and she was more in-tune with the crisis at hand than he was.  “Yeah.  That makes sense.”

“So we’ll try to get Dan to agree to doing the ritual this weekend.  Good.”  She swallowed.  “The other thing is… how would you feel about being a part of the ritual as well?”

_ Um, what?! _

Arin’s mouth opened a closed like a gaping fish, trying to find the right words to say.  Instead he asked, “Uhhh, how do you mean?  Like just watching or participating?”

Suzy’s cheeks flushed pink.  “Whatever you want.”

Arin almost choked on his own spit at what she was proposing.  Essentially, Suzy was asking him if he wanted to make this a threesome, which… well, it wasn’t  _ un _ appealing.  The biggest hurdle for Arin to conquer over the ceremony was the idea of his wife, whom he loved, and his best friend, whom he also loved, becoming intimate in ways that Arin had only dreamed of.  But Suzy’s proposal removed that obstacle entirely.  Granted, it threw in a whole new set of issues - if Dan would even agree, the awkwardness of it all, what would happen afterwards - but Arin was a lot more willing to deal with those problems with them.

“Are you serious?” he asked, his voice barely above a whisper.  “Can you even do that?”

Suzy shrugged.  “I’ll need to pray about it some more, ask the Overworld if that’s something they would allow.  I think because you’re my husband they’ll allow it.  And honestly, as weird or creepy as this sounds, I would feel better with you there.”

Arin instantly felt like an ass, because the entire time he had been worrying about himself, he never thought once to see how Suzy was doing, ask if she was okay with doing all of this.  He reached for her hand.  “Are you uncomfortable with doing the ritual?  If you are, you don’t have to do it.”

Suzy smiled knowingly.  “We both know that’s not an option.  I’m Dan’s only hope now.”  She chewed her bottom lip again.  “Dan is… a wonderful friend, and very attractive, and… I’m lucky that I get to save my friend.  But my discomfort in this situation has come from me having to do this knowing how much you love him.  If you’re there - participating to some degree - then I think I’ll feel a lot better.”

Arin took a calming breath.  His head was spinning, he couldn’t believe this was an option.  “So… we’re gonna do this?  Are you sure?”

“If the Overworld allows it, and if Dan is okay with it, then… yeah.  I’d like to do it this way.”

Arin’s tongue felt thick in his mouth, so he simply nodded.  Suzy leaned forward and pressed her lips against his, pulling him into a deep kiss.  “I have to go pray,” she said as she pulled back, resting her forehead against Arin’s.  “Let’s hope for the best.”

He smiled and leaned in to kiss her again.  “Good luck, baby.”

She smirked and stood, making her way toward the staircase, no doubt heading to the bedroom where she would have some privacy.  He watched her go, and once she was out of sight and he heard the bedroom door close, he looked down to Dan.  His stomach backflipped.  He worried that getting Dan on board with the idea might be difficult, but if his instincts were right about what happened earlier in the day… maybe not.

His fingers went back to running through Dan’s locks gently as he tried to turn his attention back to the television, even though his brain was running wild.  He focused all his energy in concentrating on the screen, and soon felt his eyelids begin to droop…

Arin startled awake when he felt something settle against his left thigh.  His head jolted upright from where it had been leaning against the back of the couch, and he looked down to see Dan still lying down, head on the pillow resting against Arin’s thigh, but this time awake.  He looked up to meet Arin’s eyes and smiled.  “Hey, you’re awake now too.”

Arin yawned.  “How long was I out for?”

Dan shrugged.  “I dunno.  I’ve only been up for, like, ten minutes.”

Arin looked for the digital clock in their living room and saw that it was almost five.  Shit, he’d been out for over an hour.  And Suzy still wasn’t back?  That couldn’t be a good sign.

“Dude, you okay?” asked Dan.

“Huh?  Oh, yeah, I’m fine, why do you ask?”

Dan cocked a brow.  “You just had a really worried look all of a sudden.”

“Oh.  I, uh,” god, Arin was such a terrible liar, “I had a weird dream.”

“Really?  Tell me about it.”

Arin shrugged.  “I don’t remember a lot of it.  It didn’t make any sense anyway.”

Dan stretched his arms.  “Mkay, whatever.  Can we watch something other than  _ Mythbusters?   _ I’m pretty sure Adam’s voice worked it’s way into my dreams somehow.”

Arin chuckled and grabbed the remote, handing it to Dan.  “Be my guest.”

Dan started channel surfing and Arin saw something out of the corner of his eye.  He turned toward the movement and saw Suzy standing at the foot of the stairs.  His stomach lurched.  She had an answer, now what was it?

Suzy gave a small smile, her eyes bright, and nodded minutely.  Arin felt his heart leap into his throat.  That could only mean one thing.

She stepped lightly to the couch, plopping down in her spot next to Arin.  Dan’s eyes followed her, staring her down where she sat.  “Lately you have a knack for leaving the room while me and Arin are sleeping.”

She scrunched her nose at him.  “You two are boring when you’re asleep.  You can’t expect me to just hang around until you’re awake again.”

Dan gave a shrug and turned back to the television.  “Touché.”

Arin felt Suzy’s fingers intertwine with his own and he tried to turn towards her without drawing too much attention from Dan.  He raised his brow in a silent question, and Suzy smiled and nodded again.  She leaned into Arin, head resting on his shoulder, and kissed the back of his hand.

A strange mix of happiness and nerves overtook Arin’s senses, warmth spreading throughout him and a pit forming in his stomach.  If Dan was cool with it, Arin could take part in the ritual - which was terrifying in it’s own right - but it was better than sitting on the sidelines and letting his jealousy consume him.  He didn’t know whether to jump for joy or throw up.

Just one more obstacle.  Dan’s approval.  And then… the ritual.  Which, hopefully, would be a threesome.

_ What the fuck _ ?!

 


	10. The Plan

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: I know that Matt and Ryan edit for the Grumps now, but considering I started writing this before that, Kevin is still the editor in this story. It’s not a mistake that I mention him. Thanks!

On Friday, the trio went back into the office.  Everyone had slept well the night before - no more nightmares from Dan - so they all decided going back to the office was probably best.  Arin and Dan could get some recording done, Suzy could confer with Kevin about editing for the few videos she’d filmed the day before - it worked out better for everyone.

Well, almost everyone.

Everyone  _ else  _ in the building was treating Dan, Arin, and Suzy like… god, Dan didn’t even know.  It was just weird.  Dan would be talking to Suzy, feeling eyes bore into his back, and when he’d turn around, see Vernon startle and look away.  He’d be laughing at something Arin said, and look over Arin’s shoulder to see Jack looking at him funny before continuing with whatever task was at hand.  He’d be sitting with his laptop on the couch and see Barry just  _ staring,  _ not looking away even when he stared back, before Barry would shake his head and stalk off.  Even Ross was acting weird, quieter than normal and constantly stealing glances between the three of them.   The only person who treated him normally was Brian, who knew everything that was going on.

He felt like he was in a fishbowl, or a zoo, a spectacle to be stared at and observed.  Everyone knew that  _ something  _ was going on, and they were all trying to figure it out without directly asking.  Which was… annoying.

Oddly enough, though, there was another part of Dan that was grateful.  He wouldn’t even know where to begin with the truth, if anyone asked.  Who would even believe him?

By the time lunch rolled around, Dan was ready for his recording session with Arin later that afternoon.  He had gotten plenty of things done, but he was ready to sit in a room with Arin and not have six other pairs of silently inquiring (re: nosy) eyes.

He was reviewing his schedule for the next few weeks (well, what would be his schedule if he could get his soul back in time to do it all) when an email popped up.  He minimized his schedule and opened the message.

_           Subject: we need to talk _

_                     Hey man, when Vernon and Jack go to pick up lunch, can we talk?  Supply room in about half an hour? _

_                     -B _

Dan felt his stomach flip.  He wasn’t really in a place to say no to Barry.  He’d hadn’t been a very good roommate or friend over the last week.  He swallowed and typed his response.

_           Subject: we need to talk _

_                     Of course.  I’ll see you then. _

He hit send, and for the next half hour his stomach was a ball of nerves.  It took a lot to make Barry angry - like,  _ really  _ angry.  But Dan had seen it a few times living with him.  He worried that he would see it again today, and that this time, he’d be on the receiving end.

The time passed all too quickly and also not fast enough.  Vernon and Jack headed out, talking softly amongst themselves, and the minute the door had closed behind them Barry was up and heading toward the recording room.  When his hand found the handle, he looked at Dan, gave a firm nod, and headed inside.

Dan exhaled long and low, standing and stretching his limbs.  He looked around to see if anyone would notice his and Barry’s disappearance, but it seemed that everyone was plenty busy.  Suzy and Arin were at Kevin’s desk, going over some edits; Ross, working on  _ Gameoverse _ .  Brent was nowhere to be seen.

Dan slipped soundlessly into the small sound booth room, and took a deep breath before turning the knob on the room to his left.  He ventured to guess this was not going to be a pleasant conversation.

Barry stood opposite of Dan, leaning against the wall and facing him.  Dan closed the door quietly behind him, leaning against it, hands in his pockets.  “Hi.”

“It’s nice to actually see you.”

Dan winced internally.  He probably deserved that.  “I’m sorry, man.”

Barry’s forehead creased.  “For what?”

Dan opened his mouth to speak, but quickly closed it.  What exactly was he sorry for?  What did Barry want to hear?  He really didn’t know.  He ventured a guess.  “For being a shit roommate.”

Barry shrugged.  “You’re not a shit roommate.  I mean, it would be nice if I knew if you were coming home, to know to leave dinner for you or leave the lights on, but it’s not like I’m your girlfriend or anything.  You’re a grown man, I don’t have to keep tabs on you.  That’s not why I needed to talk to you.”

“Then what is it?”

Barry inhaled deeply through his nose, exhaled through his mouth, and met Dan’s eyes head-on.  “I wanted to make sure you weren’t mad at me.”

Dan would have reeled backwards if he didn’t have a door behind him.  He shook his head.  “Wait, what?”

“You’ve been gone for almost a week,” Barry said, “I wasn’t sure if I had made you mad for some reason, and you had gone to stay with Arin and Suzy while you cooled down.  But then you didn’t come home night after night, and then I thought maybe you were so mad that you were staying with them until you could find your own place.  Then I got mad because if that was the case, I didn’t know why we couldn’t just talk it out… then I realized I needed to talk to you before I got angry over a completely hypothetical situation that may not even be true.”  He folded his arms.  “This whole time it’s been radio silence from you, and I’m not sure what’s going on.  I thought we were better friends than that.”

“Barry, you  _ are  _ one of my best friends.”

“Then what’s going on?”

“You’re not gonna believe me.”

“Try me.”

Dan’s breath caught in his throat.  Should he tell Barry the truth?  Surely he would think Dan was hallucinating, or getting high again at least.

But he could prove it…

Dan brought his hand to his temple and sighed.  When he had finished transforming, horns and fangs in place, he looked back up to Barry, who was only looking at him with mild surprise.

“Whoa,” he breathed, “you’re a demon?  How did I not know all this time?”

Dan gaped.  “What--why-- _ How  _ do you know about demons?!”

Barry smirked.  “Let’s just say you’re not the first demon I’ve met.”

It took Dan a second to let that sink in.  His stomach dropped.  “Barry… please tell me you haven’t sold your soul.”

He pursed his lips and shook his head.  “No, I haven’t.”  Dan breathed a sigh of relief.  “But I have been approached about it.  More than once.”

“You told them no.”

“Yeah.  I don’t know how much a soul is exactly worth, but I thought it was more than money or a relationship.”

Dan nodded sagely.  “If only I’d known that when I sold my soul and then became this.”

Barry’s eyebrows rose.  “So that’s what I would have looked forward to.  If I had.”

“Well, it’s either this, or eternal torture.”

_ “Christ.” _

They were both silent for a moment, each looking at the other a little differently, never knowing this huge part of the other’s life.  For best friends and roommates, they still had a lot to learn about each other.

“You haven’t answered my question, though,” said Barry, reminding Dan of their earlier conversation, the one that got them here.

Dan looked down at his feet.  “I’m, uh, in some trouble.  I haven’t been doing my job, collecting souls like I should.  The Underworld is after me.  But um… Suzy and Arin.  They keep me safe.”

Barry looked perplexed.  “Like… figuratively or literally?”

Dan shrugged his shoulders.  “Both.  Arin… Arin sold his soul to me, long before he moved out here, long before he met you or Jon.  He’s protected by his contract - they can’t get me while I’m with him, for fear of hurting him too.  And Suzy… she’s an angel.  She can actually save me, Arin, all of those who--”

“Whoa! Wait, hold on, back up.”  Barry leaned forward and looked at Dan incredulously.  “Suzy’s a what now?!”

Dan couldn’t stop the chuckle that bubbled up.  “I transform into a demon right in front of you, and me telling you that angels exist is what really shocks you?”

“Well, I knew that demons existed!  Watching you transform was… unsettling, but angels?!”

“Yup.  Suzy’s an angel.  And like I mentioned before, she can get my soul back, Arin’s and every other one I’ve trapped into this horrible deal.”

Barry paused, trying to wrap his head around it all.  “How?”

“Ummmm…” Dan rubbed the back of his neck and blushed, “there’s a ritual.  It’s complicated.”

“... You have to fuck her, don’t you?”

“No!  I mean, yes, but don’t say it like that!”

“Whoa now,” Barry held his hands up in front of himself, “I was just joking!  Do you really have to have sex with Suzy?”

Dan groaned.  “Yes.  And I’m… kinda dealing with a lot of emotional baggage right now.”

For the first time since the entered the small space, Barry took a couple steps toward Dan.  “Do you need to talk about it?”

Dan smiled warmly at his friend.  He always forgot how many people truly cared for him, how many people had his back  - he was so used to only looking out for himself.  “I appreciate it, but I think it’s a little too much to get into right now.  I’m trying to just figure it out myself, not drag too many people into this.  But I’ll keep your offer in mind.”

Barry smiled back.  “I’ll always listen, Dan.”

He nodded.  “Thanks.  And I’m sorry that I was a lousy friend.  I should have kept you better updated.”

“It’s okay.  Now that I know what’s going on, I get it.  I’m sorry I kinda made it all about me.”

“Barry.  You are the least selfish person I know.  We’re good.”

Barry held out his hand and Dan took it, bringing him in for a hug with their fists trapped between them.  Dan was so lucky to have Barry as a roommate and a friend.  Understanding and kind to a fault, maybe he should give him some credit for helping Dan keep his humanity and hope for so long.

When they pulled away from each other, Dan stepped forward to open the door behind him.  “I bet Vernon and Jack are back with lunch.  Wanna go eat?”

“Uhh,” Barry said, reaching out to push the door closed, “you might wanna put the horns and fangs back.”

“Oh.  Yeah, that would be good.”

Barry chuckled as Dan transformed back.  “Okay, now we can go.”

-~*~-

Dan was giving Arin and Suzy their space.  Ever since lunch, they had been acting… weird wasn’t the right word.  Just… distant.  At least, certainly more distant than they had been over the last few days.

They had kept mostly to themselves.  Which was fine - Dan could use a little time away from them as well.  He still felt like a hassle, invading their home, so giving them a bit of their own time was fine by him.  But they had also been secretly stealing glances, furtive stares, and when Dan would catch one (or both) of them looking at him, they’d quickly look away, shift their gaze to something else, like they’d never been looking at Dan to begin with.

Considering everything they had gone through so far, he thought they didn’t have any secrets between them anymore.  But then again, it wasn’t like  _ he  _ was married to the couple.  And he knew he didn’t deserve to be in on their every conversation.

Still.  It hurt, at least a little bit.

Dan was in the living room while Suzy and Arin were working on dinner.  He had asked if he could do anything to help, but they both told him that they were fine and he should just take it easy.  So now he sat on the couch, laptop resting on his legs as he browsed the NSP reddit thread.  He hadn’t been on in a long while, so he was responding to comments, making a few quips, answering some questions.  It would probably make some of the fans happy.

He was in the middle of typing a response when Suzy appeared from around the corner.  He looked up and she was smiling warmly, head tilted slightly to the side.  His stomach did a backflip and he ignored what that meant.

“Dinner’s ready,” she said, her voice soft and light.

Dan nodded and cleared his throat.  “Okay.  I’ll finish up and be right there.”

“All right.”  She turned and sauntered away.

It was so weird, this quiet domesticity the three of them had fallen into.  Part of Dan wished it would last.  Another part of him was terrified at the thought.

He finished up his response and closed his computer, standing and stretching, joints cracking all the way.  He rolled his shoulders and headed toward the kitchen table, only to be surprised to see it empty.  His brow furrowed; they had eaten every meal to date at this table, where--

He walked into dining room - the one that Arin and Suzy said they only used for holidays and special events - and there they were, dinner spread out, places set, even candles were lit.  Suzy sat at the head of the table, Arin to her right, and a place across from him where Dan assumed he would sit.

Dan couldn’t help it - his jaw dropped and he chuckled softly.  “What is all this?”

Arin shrugged.  “Just figured we would change it up a bit.”

“But this is so fancy!  What’s the occasion?”

“No occasion,” Suzy replied.  “Do we need one?”

“Well, no but--”

“Then sit.  Let’s eat, otherwise it’s gonna get cold!”

Dan didn’t argue with her as he took his seat.  She took his plate and filled it with food, then took Arin’s, then hers.  All the time, Arin was staring at Dan from across the table, smiling slightly.  Dan fought every urge to blush.  “Dinner looks amazing.  Thank you both.”

“You’re welcome,” Suzy replied for both of them.

They ate in relative silence, which was odd, but not necessarily unexpected - the food was  _ really  _ good.  Dan himself was trying not to scarf it down.  He was hungrier that he thought he was, and everything was delicious.

He was about halfway done with his meal when Arin placed his fork next to his plate and wiped his mouth, clearing his throat.  Dan looked at Arin, then at Suzy, who looked like she had hardly touched her food.  He looked between the couple before swallowing what was in his mouth and putting down his fork.  “Is there something you want to talk about?”

Arin and Suzy looked at each other, and yep, that was it right there - that  _ look  _ they kept sharing all day.  He took a deep breath.  “You two have been really quiet today, I’ve noticed,” he continued.  “What’s up?”

Suzy sighed and rested her arms on the table.  “Well, um.”  Suzy began to blush and stammer, and Dan knew exactly what this conversation was going to be about.  “We… I was talking to Arin, and, um, w-we were thinking-”

“Suzy thinks we should do the ritual this weekend,” Arin jumped in, his words sure, unwavering.  “The sooner, the better.”

Dan took a deep breath, trying to steel his nerves.  He knew this would be coming, that everything would lead up to this.  He’d known it a week ago, that first day when he’d told Suzy what he was.  But even knowing that didn’t stop the flutter in his stomach at the thought.  “Okay.  Any particular reason why?”  He felt proud that he didn’t stutter through his words.  This was an awkward conversation for them all.

“Suzy’s worried about how far the Underworld will go to get you back,” Arin replied, his voice grave.  “She’s afraid they might try to bring reinforcements that she can’t fight off.”

Dan swallowed, nodding.  “That’s fair.”  He turned to Suzy.  “I trust your judgement on this.  If you think it needs to be sooner, then we’ll do it.”

Suzy let out a breath that she had been holding.  “Good.  I’m glad you agree.”

She tapped her fingers against the table and Arin looked at her, prompting her to say something more.  Dan waited for her to continue.  When she didn’t say anything, he prompted, “Is there something else?”

Suzy took a deep breath, looking Dan straight in the eyes.  “Yes.  I was thinking--if you’re okay with it--would, um,” she faltered, but swallowed and barrelled on, “would you be okay if Arin was a part of the ritual as well?”

Dan’s heart dropped and his eyebrows disappeared into his hairline.  “Oh!  Uh…” He was completely caught off guard; he was  _ not _ expecting this question.  He felt a blush creep from his chest all the way up to his ears, and he took a deep breath to calm his nerves.  He wished his body didn’t give him away.  “I’m--well--can I ask, why?”

Dan looked to Arin; he was looking to his lap, his own face flushed, eyes downcast. Fuck, Dan was really fucking bad at this.

“I would feel better if he were there,” Suzy cut in, stealing Dan’s attention.  “I just… I don’t know.  He’s as much included in all this as I am, if not moreso, and I feel bad making him stay out of it--”

“--If you’re uncomfortable, don’t worry about it,” Arin interrupted.  “It’s not a big deal.  Just… an idea.”

Dan’s brow furrowed.  “Whose idea?”

At that question, Arin and Suzy looked at each other, then the floor.  If it wasn’t both of their ideas, then they weren’t about to give each other up now.

Dan stifled a sigh and ran a hand nervously through his hair.  This was… difficult.  He wanted Arin to join them - of  _ course  _ he did.  He knew he was feeling  _ something  _ for Arin (and Suzy, for that matter), although he was hesitant to give it a name.  He knew he wanted Suzy  _ and  _ Arin.  The hesitance to say yes wasn’t because he was afraid of having sex with both of them, but what would happen afterwards.

Suzy wanted Dan there because she didn’t want to feel  _ guilty.   _ She didn’t Arin to be left out.  She was being a good wife, but at the cost of Dan’s feelings.  When it was over, what would happen?  They’d be done, a good time had by all, and things would go back to the way they were before this snafu.

Except it wouldn’t.  Dan didn’t think he could go back to the way things were.  Suzy and Arin had done so much for him, were still willing to do so much.  Something deep inside Dan told him not to do this; tearing him away from Suzy was going to be hard enough - adding Arin to the equation would make things so much worse.

“Seriously, Dan, you don’t have to--”

“It’s fine with me.”

Suzy, who had reached a hand out to rest of Dan’s arm, pulled away, taken aback.  Arin, on the other hand, was looking at Dan with disbelief and awe, and maybe a little bit of hope.  He was the first one to find his tongue.  “Really?”

Suzy shook her head.  “You don’t have--”

“I know I don’t.”  Dan’s mind was screaming at him to backtrack but his mouth barrelled on.  “But I’m okay with it.  And besides, it’s pretty much the least I can do.”

Arin’s expression faltered.  “You don’t… you know you don’t owe us anything, right?  Like, I don’t want you to do this because you feel  _ obligated.” _

“No, I know,” Dan was quick to reassure, “I don’t feel like I have to, but if it’s what you guys want, then… it’s what… I want.”

Dan’s hands formed fists under the table and willed the scarlet in his face not to intensify.  God, he sounded so desperate.

Suzy’s eyes were searching Dan.  He wished she’d stop.  “You’re sure?”

He met her gaze and didn’t flinch.  “I am.  I want to end this the way I started it: with both of you.”

For the first time since their dinner started, Suzy smiled and her eyes softened.  “Okay.  Tomorrow night.  Is that okay?”

Dan swallowed thickly.  “Yeah.  The sooner the better, right?”

“Yeah.  Thank you, Dan.”

Dan couldn’t stop the chuckle that rose in his throat.  “I’m pretty sure I should be the one thanking you.”

“Whatever.  I’m just glad this will all be over tomorrow.”

Dan looked at Arin, noticing the slight smile on his lips, the sparkle in his eyes.  Dan’s smile mirrored Arin’s as he responded to Suzy, still locking eyes with Arin.

“Me too.”

He wasn’t.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Guys, I'm sorry this update took so long. Writing this chapter was like pulling teeth, and I've been really busy. Just know that I haven't abandoned this fic - I intend to see it through. Updates may just be slow.
> 
> If you liked this, leave a comment, or come bug me on Tumblr - I'm notsogrumpgirl.
> 
> As always special thanks to mynameisbirdie for being an amazing beta!
> 
> Thanks so much for reading. You guys keep me writing this. <3

**Author's Note:**

> If you liked this, feel free to come bug me on Tumblr - I'm notsogrumpgirl. :)
> 
> Special thanks to mynameisbirdie, my amazing beta who isn't even in the Grump fandom and still puts up with my rambling and raving. 
> 
> Thanks for reading! More to come soon!


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